Chrysanthemums & Peaches
by mayonakanotaiyou
Summary: Everyone carries emotional baggage. As he matures, Hitsugaya learns a thing or two about relationships, faithfulness, and loyalty. The plot thickens yet again for the HitsuMatsu couple!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: All Kubo Taito's idea. Not mine.

**Author's Note**: This will start off HitsuHina, but it _will_ eventually be HitsuMatsu. Period.

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter 1**

Hitsugaya signed the last of his paperwork for the day before sighing loudly and slumping into his chair. He had finished most of what he set out to accomplish. Matsumoto on the other hand, was still not back. She was supposed to have gone to get more stationery from the main supply office.

_Four and a half hours ago…_

"_Matsumoto, stop doodling on the reports and finish the logs already." _

"_Oh, but taichou, it's 3:00 on a Friday and I've been working on these logs for days!" she complained, temporarily halting the production of whimsical flowers with faces in the margins._

"_They were due on Wednesday," he reminded her irritably. "I thought I finished the 10-bantai zanpakutou inspection weeks ago."_

"_Yeah, but there are over 200 members in our bantai," she whined. "I had to look up all the official documents of the members of our bantai. It was such hard work—"_

"_Well, you were the one who stuffed the files in the boxes in the first place, saying that it 'saved time and space,'" he said flatly._

"_I know but, taichou—" she pleaded, standing up to grovel. _

"_No," he said reaching to get a file in a box under his desk._

"_Please!"_

"_No."_

"_Please! Please, pretty please! Please, I just wanna—oopsie…uh oh…"_

"_What now-OUCH!" Hitsugaya said popping up from under his desk, slamming his head on the open drawer._

"_Taichou, I was uh, getting overly…uh, enthusiastic…and I sort of knocked over my inkwell with my uh…uh…" Matsumoto gestured to the ink splotch that somehow conveniently landed on her cleavage. "I think I need to go wash it off—"_

"_Matsumoto! You did that on purpose!"_

"_Taichou, it was an accident! I swear! I was in the process of convincing to you to let me off early and—"_

"_Matsumoto!"_

"_And, and—all of a sudden this inkwell came out of nowhere and attacked my chest and well—yeah, the ink spilled over the last ream of report paper…"_

_Hitsugaya's hand went straight to his forehead as he sighed. He was pretty sure she had done it on purpose, but he had no choice but to send her off to get more paper for the reports she was supposed to be writing._

"_Matsumoto, go to the bathroom and clean that up," he commanded looking away, blushing faintly as he shooed her waving at the dripping ink splotch. "Then go and get some more report paper from the head office."_

"_Roger that!" she said saluting briefly before galloping happily—too happily—out the door._

That was over four hours ago. Matsumoto was still not back and he had one more report to write. Hitsugaya sighed resignedly, shuffled his papers and placed them neatly in a stack on the table next to his desk. He closed his inkwell and put his brush in the basket for 'brushes to be cleaned.'

He frowned when he noticed that Matsumoto had not taken the brushes to be washed for three days. But he was too tired to fight it. He stood up from his chair and grabbed his zanpakutou next to his desk, putting it on his back as he turned off the lamp, locked the door and shuffled out the door.

Hitsugaya loved walking home from his office at the meeting hall. Sure he had an office at his own 10-bantai headquarters, but he usually did most of the administrative work for his actual bantai there. He usually used this spacious office they had given him in the same building as the meeting hall to do research or investigate anything that was unrelated to 10-bantai.

Matsumoto had her own office, but it was on the fourth floor, three floors above his. She said it was too much trouble to go all the way up, so mobilized several of the lower members of 10-bantai to move her desk into a corner of _his _office, which was on the first floor with the offices of all the other taichou.

She often also complained that this office was so far from the headquarters and that it was a pain to have to wake up extra early so she could be there on time. Hitsugaya, an early riser, did not mind the 'commute' since when he used his shunpo, he could be there in about a minute. But usually, he just left his headquarters early and _walked_.

He found that walking allowed him to relax himself before work and helped him unwind after work. Tonight despite it being late and the sound of drunken shinigami echoing through the streets of the Seireitei, the skies were clear and there was a breeze that gently tousled his spiked hair. Hitsugaya was passing through the park that he always passed through, approaching the bench that he always stopped to rest at, not because he needed it like some old retired shinigami with too much time on his hands, but because he _liked _to sit and enjoy the view of the sky that particular bench provided. The bench was at the edge of the park in a secluded spot, which is why Hitsugaya frequented this particular bench.

Sometimes when he felt like he was going to burst a vein from the stress of being a taichou or from the incompetence of some of his subordinates (Matsumoto included), he came to this spot, which was exactly halfway between his headquarters and the meeting hall office, to cool off and rethink situations and possible solutions to them.

Matsumoto sometimes pestered him about his sudden absences, since he usually just got up and left, sometimes mid-sentence. But she knew better than to follow him when he was in a bad mood. So even she did not know about this spot; he never told her—not her or anyone.

He arrived at his bench, took off his zanpakutou, and sat down. The moonlight played softly off his recently sharpening features. He had not noticed himself until he overheard two of the female members of his bantai talking about him. They thought he had gone to a meeting, but he forgot a report and ended up overhearing the conversation when he came back for it.

A few days ago… 

"_Is it just me, or is Hitsugaya-taichou getting taller?"_

"_Taller? Hitsugaya-taichou? Now those are two words that you don't hear in the same sentence everyday."_

"_Really? I could have sworn I was taller than he was when he last did a uniform inspection. Maybe he was having a good hair day or something."_

"_Maybe not taller, but have you noticed his voice has gotten lower over the past few months? I don't know, ever since that Aizen incident, he seems different."_

"_Yeah, I know what you mean. I was looking at him from the side the other day and his face seems …I don't know, his features seem more defined…"_

"_Yeah! I thought so too. I mean he's not masculine like that Ikkaku something or another of 11-bantai, but not pretty like Ukitake-taichou…."_

"_Not scruffy like Kyouraku-taichou, but not handsome like Kaien-fukutaichou…"_

"_He looks less like a boy—"_

"_His face seems like it's maturing."_

"_He's pretty good looking now that I think about it."_

" _God I just hope he grows taller! Handsome or not, I just don't wanna be taller than him!"_

Needless to say, he looked in the mirror when he got back to the safety of his own room. He was tempted to measure himself against the markings on the wall that charted his growth since he came to the Seireitei. But since he did not want to be disappointed in case he _hadn't_ grown, he decided that the comment that he was having a good hair day would suffice and he would just leave it at that.

Hitsugaya gazed at the starry sky as he reflected on the day's activities. Today's topics for mediation included where the hell Matsumoto disappeared to, when her reports were going to be on his desk with his ream of report paper, the hollow missions for the senior members of his bantai, and that memo that Yamamoto-soutaichou sent out this afternoon.

The last one was particularly unnerving for the emerald-eyed taichou. That afternoon, Yamamoto-soutaichou sent out a memo saying something to the effect of '_Pending further investigation of the murder of Central 46 Chambers and the betrayal of 3 taichou, the responsibilities of taichou for 3-bantai, 5-bantai, and 9-bantai shall be assumed by their respective fukutaichou until further notice. New taichou of the aforementioned bantai shall be determined pending the results of the investigation.'_

The incident itself occurred months ago. The fukutaichou had been assuming responsibility the second they were capable of handling the responsibilities. Those not directly involved in the investigation were trying their best to move past the incident, returning to normal activities pre-Ichigo invasion. Why an official declaration, granting them permission months after the fact was indeed a puzzling and most baffling concern for the perceptive 10-bantai taichou. Something did not sit right with Hitsugaya, but instead of dwelling on it, he decided that he had done enough work for the night.

Hitsugaya picked up his things and began heading for the east exit of the park. He was feeling calm, refreshed, and ready for a quiet evening at home with his green tea and the six reports he had checked out from the central library several days ago. He had been researching the events that led up to the chamber massacre and needed several pages from those reports. He was nearly home and just thinking about which one he should read first, when suddenly someone running at full speed crashed right into him, nearly knocking the wind right out of him.

Hitsugaya was just about to warn whoever ran into him about manners and courtesy for other pedestrians, when he looked up and saw the culprit. She was sobbing and looked as if she just recovered herself from the shock of the run in like him. Hitsugaya carefully approached her, trying to get a better look at her face.

"Hey, are you all right?" he asked leaning down towards her eye level.

"Shiro-chan?" she whispered, sniffling and looking up into his emerald green ones with her tear filled ones.

"Hinamori!" he gasped. "What the hell happened?"

"S-Sh-Shiro-cha------------n!" she sobbed, standing up and burying herself in his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Kubo Taito's not mine. This disclaimer is getting shorter and shorter. It really is a pain in the ass to write. Note: From now on, I shall be Japanese and abbreviate everything. My disclaimers shall read "KTNM." (Kubo Taito's not mine)—just for future reference. (warai)

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter 2**

"Hinamori?" he said quietly to the sobbing fukutaichou. "What happened?"

"Shiro-chan, I, I…" Hinamori trailed off as she collapsed in exhaustion.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened as he felt the dead weight of Hinamori upon him. While she was not fat or anything; Hinamori was taller than he was and therefore heavier. He wanted to get her to the emergency room of the 4-bantai, but with the dead weight, he was not exactly sure if he _could _carry her on his own. He was afraid he might drop her, especially since he had pulled a muscle the other day while training with Hyourinmaru. He decided that it might be better for him to use his shunpo to get help rather than to try and move his unconscious childhood friend.

He gently set her on the soft grass, taking off his 10-bantai haori and folding it to use as a pillow for her head. He set his zanpakutou next to her and rushed off in the direction of the 4-bantai head quarters.

Moments later…

"Unohana-taichou!" Hitsugaya panted as he burst through the emergency entrance of the headquarters. "Hinamori—it's Hinamori."

The calm 4-bantai taichou looked up from the report she was reading. "Hitsugaya-taichou, is something a matter?"

"Hinamori, please help her. She collapsed…near the park…I was walking home from the meeting hall…She's near the east exit of the park."

"Say no more, Isane, let's go."

"As you wish, taichou," her fukutaichou said, following the soft-spoken taichou.

"Wait for me—" Hitsugaya said running after them.

"No, you stay here and fill out the forms over there." Unohana stopped and turned around slowly. "We need you to describe the situation you found her in, in the event that foul play is suspected."

Unohana turned back and began walking out into the dark night, calling out her zanpakutou, Minazuki.

"Please, Hitsugaya-taichou," Isane pleaded as the giant ray took form, soaring up into the sky before coming down to its master's side. "This may seem cruel, but there's nothing you can do for her at this time. Please wait here while we bring Hinamori-taichou back."

"Isane."

"Coming, taichou," she said bowing to a gaping Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya stood there stupefied until one of the lower ranking members ushered him to a waiting room to fill out a report and the patient information. He followed her dumbly and allowed himself to be led away from the main entrance of the emergency area.

He finished the report and filled out her information fast enough, but when he stood up to leave, he realized that the door could only be opened from the outside. Sighing from exhaustion and the shock of the whole situation, he placed the forms on the table and sat on the couch against the wall, fighting to stay awake, but unsuccessfully nodding off.

"Hitsugaya-taichou…"

Hitsugaya opened his eyes groggily to a shy shinigami that had her hair pulled back in a bun attempting to wake him up.

"Hinamori! Are you—" Hitsugaya stopped when he realized it was not the 5-bantai taichou.

"Um, Hitsugaya-taichou, Hinamori-fukutaichou's condition has been stabilized. Unohana-taichou told me to inform you that you may go and see her. She's awake and in room 3—"

Hitsugaya did not need to be told twice. He mumbled his thanks to the girl and rushed to Hinamori's room, bursting in rather loudly.

"Hinamori!"

"Shiro-chan…" Hinamori was propped up against a pillow and Isane was taking her vital signs.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, please keep your voice down," Isane warned quietly.

"Sorry, what happened?"

"According to Unohana-taichou, Hinamori-fukutaichou most likely collapsed due to lack of proper nutrition, dehydration, physical or emotional stress, or a combination of those things," Isane said, putting away the instruments she had been using and logging her findings on the clipboard above Hinamori's bed.

"Thanks."

"Hinamori-fukutaichou, Unohana-taichou has put in a request to relieve you of your duties until you recover. Abarai-fukutaichou will take care of your bantai in your absence. Please cooperate and rest well. You may leave as soon as you're ready." Isane bowed, walked out, closed the door, and left the two childhood friends to themselves. Hitsugaya, who had been standing near the door, slowly inched over to Hinamori.

"Hinamori," he started. "I…I was…I was so worried…" he choked, as he quietly sat in the chair next to her bed that Isane had just been occupying moments earlier. "What happened?"

"It's a long story," Hinamori whispered looking down, suddenly finding the wrinkles in her sheets more amusing than Hitsugaya's concerned eyes.

"We have time," he offered.

"Ever since Aizen-taichou ascended up into the Hueco Mundo, it's been so hard," she sniffled, tearing up once again. "When I finally woke up from my coma, everything came flooding back, all the memories…"

"Hinamori…"

"He tried to kill me, Shiro-chan…why? What did I do wrong? Was it something I did? Something I said to make him hate me? I always thought he liked me and what I did for him. I dedicated myself to him and his bantai. I just don't understand."

"Hinamori, I…"

"Shiro-chan, tell me. Tell me this has all been a horrible nightmare. I tried to move on, but I can't. I just can't…" she said, her shoulders shuddering from the sobbing.

"I've been trying to be professional. I've been trying to act as taichou since I regained consciousness. They've confiscated everything that belonged to him. Everything's blocked off pending the investigation. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since I regained consciousness. Every night it's the same nightmare replaying the events leading up to him trying to kill me…Why…?"

Hinamori paused, wiped her tears and looked up sadly at Hitsugaya.

"Hinamori, I don't know what to say…"

"Shiro-chan."

Hitsugaya cringed slightly at the mention of the embarrassing nickname.

"Yeah?" he said standing up and walking towards the window.

"Do you think Aizen-taichou really did it?"

"Huh!" Hitsugaya whirled around and returned to his seat. "Hinamori, the guy tried to kill you! What more do you need!"

"I know," she said, wringing her hands. "But he was so nice back then to us all. He took care of all of us. He helped us get to where we are today—well maybe not so much you, since you always sort of excelled far above me, Kira-kun, and Abarai-kun. But for us…"

"Hinamori, let's try not to forget, he tried to kill you. It's _attempted murder_."

"Yes, but maybe, Ichimaru-taichou is behind this all. Maybe he's the one controlling Aizen-taichou."

Hitsugaya's hands twitched and he began rubbing his temples. Talking to Hinamori was getting to be exhausting.

"Hinamori—"

"Shiro-chan, thank you."

"Huh?"

"When I came to, I saw your zanpakutou and your haori next to my bed. Thank you for bringing me here."

"Hinamori, what were you doing out at such a late hour, where were you going?"

"Recently I haven't been able to eat or sleep. When I sleep, I get nightmares and wake up in cold sweat, terrified. When I eat, I can't keep anything down, since the mere thought of Aizen-taichou makes me throw it all up. Shiro-chan, this all must be a mistake—a misunderstanding, right?"

"I don't know…" Hitsugaya once again stood up and walked to the window.

"Shiro-chan, I'm scared."

"Of…?"

"I don't know. But whenever I couldn't sleep, I always went to Aizen-taichou. He always let me stay at his place. Shiro-chan, please, you don't have to let me stay at your place, but can you, I mean, if you don't mind, please, can you stay at my place for a few days?"

"I don't want people to get the wrong impression," he started reluctantly. "But, I'm worried about you, so okay. For a few days."

"Thank you so much," she said leaning forward to hug him fiercely. Hitsugaya was so stunned at the action he barely noticed the door slowly opening.

"Whoa! I'll come back at another time!" said a familiar voice.

"Matsumoto!" he exclaimed.

"Taichou, I never realized that you had something going on with Hinamori-chan here. I can come back at another time," she winked.

"Matsumoto, this is a hospital!"

"Yeah, to each its own," she said nonchalantly. "Some people like to play master and servant, nurse and doctor, I guess you two were going for…patient and nurse in reverse?"

"Matsumoto, get to the point," Hitsugaya said wearily.

"I just came to check on you. I was drinking last night and well one of the members of 4-bantai came in late, saying there was some sort of emergency involving you and Hinamori-chan here, but it was under control. So when I woke up, I decided to go look for you. Here I am."

"So what's the real reason why you're here?" Hitsugaya said impatiently crossing his arms. "Where's the report paper you promised me yesterday?"

"Oops. I gotta run. See you later, taichou!" she called, running past Hitsugaya and leaping out the window. "Take care, Hinamori-chan!"

"Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya called, shaking his fist after her. Hitsugaya sighed. "Well, let's get you home," he said turning to her and picking up his neatly folded haori. He shook it out and put it back on, putting his zanpakutou back in place.

"Shiro-chan…"

"I'll go home first, take a shower, and get some things. I'll meet you back at your place. You can check out on your own right? They probably want to ask you some questions before you leave, so cooperate and answer them truthfully. They'll probably refer you to some out-patient psychiatric care for your nightmares too."

"…"

"I'll be by later," Hitsugaya said looking back as he stood in the frame of the window. "See ya." He leaped out the window, haori fluttering coolly as he landed quietly on the ground below.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: KTNM. ()

Author's Note: This fic jumps around a lot between the flashbacks and the fast-forwarding. I may write a chapter 2.5 later (if there's a demand for it), which would cover the year that passed between chapter 2 and 3. Right now, I'm just giving information in the new chapters by way of flashbacks and whatnot. Thanks for your patience with this chapter. (v) On with chapter 3…

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter 3**

About one year later…

It was a hot Friday afternoon. Hitsugaya sat at his desk shuffling papers and depleting his ink supply on the damage report Matsumoto had left on his desk. Normally, all that is required of the taichou is that he reads, verifies, and signs the document. However, Hitsugaya took one look at the battered report that had been left on his desk and knew that the report would take hours—in the first paragraph alone he found twelve kanji errors, either she used the wrong kanji or the kanji was written incorrectly. Not to mention the little love note written to him that read, '_Taichou, sorry, I lost my hanko. Rukia-chan once told me that she learned in the Gense that everyone's lips are different, so I'm leaving my lip print instead of my seal._"

"Honestly," he mumbled to himself grouchily, peeling the two last pages of the report that were stuck together with lip-gloss. "She's an embarrassment to this bantai. Look at this—this should be the water radical, not the tree radical." He scowled menacingly at the incorrectly written kanji as if his stare alone would correct the error.

"_No one else has any problem filling out paperwork,"_ he thought to himself, rolling his eyes as he corrected yet another error. "_All the members of my bantai KNOW how to write and use kanji correctly. My god, she wrote the 'kou' in 'henkou (change)' wrong…AGAIN. Does she LIKE making more work for me! Why the hell did I have to end up with a fukutaichou of such questionable competency?"_ He did not really mean those things; he was simply upset that _he _was the one stuck doing extra work on a Friday afternoon.

Granted, he knew that one, Matsumoto did not really care when it came to filing reports and filling out paperwork and two, that she never really went to school to formally learn how to read and write, unlike most of the affluent and fortunate members of his bantai. He knew that he could not really blame her, though he often wondered from time to time what it might be like to be working with someone highly educated and efficient like Ise Nanao of 8-bantai. However, despite Matsumoto's shortcomings, she was still his most loyal and trusted subordinate, though he would never admit it to her.

Hitsugaya groaned as he looked at the clock. Six twenty-eight. It upset him that his thoughts had drifted to Matsumoto, thereby hindering him from completing his report. "Damn, she doesn't even have to be here and she decreases my productivity…" he grumbled as he stacked up the pages he had just finished and looked out the window to see the sun setting on the horizon.

He loved the peace and quiet of his office and wanted to savor the last moments of silence before—

"SHIRO-CHA--------------N!" called a voice wavering slightly as the patter of straw sandals could be heard rushing down the hall.

That. Hitsugaya cringed slightly as the door opened abruptly and a blur of black came charging into his office. It lunged forward and nearly strangled him as it showered his face and neck with kisses.

"Hinamori! How many times have I told you that there are taichou working in their offices on this floor," he said as he gasped for air under her iron grip hug.

"But I missed you," she pouted as she released him, sitting on his desk happily.

"Don't you have paperwork to do?"

"Yup, but it's Friday, and I thought that since today is our ten-month anniversary—"

"Who the hell celebrates a ten-month anniversary? Don't people normally measure those things in years?" Hitsugaya leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and raised one eyebrow.

"But I wanna go out!" she pouted. "We haven't gone anywhere together recently—"

"That's because I have work—"

"But I'm your girlfriend—"

"Yes, but I'm a taichou. I _do have_ responsibilities, you should know better, Hinamori."

"It's just that," Hinamori began to sniffle. "You never take me out. I'm so lonely and bored since I've been relieved of most of my duties. Abarai-kun does most of the work and, and…"

"All right, all right, don't cry," Hitsugaya said patting her on the shoulder. Sighing, he conceded, "All right, we can go out to dinner, and a show, okay?"

"Okay," Hinamori said using her sleeve to dry her tears.

"Now go wash your face and I'm gonna clean up my desk."

"'kay."

He really hated being guilt tripped into doing anything, but he always felt like such an ass whenever he made her cry. He always felt that whatever he did was always sincere and from his heart, but ever since that fateful evening at her place…

_Ten months ago…_

"_Shiro-chan, I have something to…to…to ask you," Hinamori said one evening after dinner. Hitsugaya was just putting away the last of the dishes into Hinamori's cozy kitchen cabinets._

"_What's up?" he said, closing the cabinet and walking over to sit next to her._

"_Shiro-chan, I'm really grateful that you've come to stay and live with me during the week for these past two months. Ever since I collapsed…it's been hard for me both physically and emotionally, but thanks to you always being here for me…"_

"_Hinamori…"_

"_Shiro-chan, thank you for cooking, cleaning, taking me to the doctor, cheering me up when I was down…even if you go back to your place on the weekend, I'm really thankful that you've spent so much time with me and so…"_

"_Hinamori, we've known each other almost all our lives. You know that you can always count on me for—"_

"_Oh, Shiro-chan! I'm so glad you feel the same way! I had to know how you felt first before I said anything, but—"_

"_Huh? Wait, feel the same way as what?"_

"_That settles it, then. We're officially a couple!" she exclaimed cheerily._

"_A couple? As in boyfriend girlfriend!"_

So, somehow 'if you ever need anything, I'll be there for you' turned into a confession of love on his part. Whoops. Not one of his finest moments. And he had always sort of prided himself in being tactful and eloquent too. He tried to explain; he really did. But then again, she looked so cheerful and happy, the happiest he had seen her in a long time, that he did not have the heart to fight it. He also felt he was wrong to have misled her to believe that he was romantically interested in her. The least he could do was be her boyfriend for the time being, right? That should make it up to her. _Besides_, how _hard _could it be?

So…he went with it.

The first few weeks, it made him happy that she was happy. Hinamori tried to be the perfect girlfriend for him. She _tried_ to make his lunch for him—with minimal success. The first rice ball she made for him was nearly inedible--she had added sugar instead of salt and the rice was too dry from her not adding enough water to it when she cooked it. She also burned the octopus-shaped wieners and the pickled vegetables were too salty. Pretty much all her attempts ended badly with something burnt or over seasoned.

He never complained, though he cooked dinner for her once, not an elaborate meal or anything, just rice, stir-fried meat and vegetables, tofu salad, and dessert. He never saw the need to cook when they were growing up as everything was pretty much provided, but he read what he could from books and somehow taught himself to cook a few simple dishes when he began living alone as taichou of 10-bantai. While he was not a culinary genius, his food was decent—far more palatable than her food. He only meant to give Hinamori a day off from cooking, but she took it as an insult and cried for days without speaking to him. Why? Because she took it as a personal insult that her cooking was not good enough for him and that this was just another instance where he was looking to surpass her.

Of course, Hinamori complained to Matsumoto and Matsumoto teased him for weeks about the incident. Matsumoto _always_ knew what was going on in his and Hinamori's relationship, sometimes before he did. While it irked him when his fukutaichou knew something before he did, he never could figure out why Hinamori just would not tell him to his face when something was wrong. Hinamori was his first girlfriend and since most of the high-ranking shinigami were male, thereby limiting his contact with mature female shinigami, Hitsugaya simply assumed that all women were more or less like Matsumoto.

In his mind, when he thought of a woman, Hinamori was one of the _last_ people on his mind. Hinamori was a girl, a child—his little sister (even though she was older) that he felt he needed to protect. Matsumoto—_she_ was a woman, even though she acted like a five-year old from time to time. Matsumoto was well, significantly larger than he was, in more ways than he would care to admit and extremely honest and frank. When she had a problem, she came straight to him (usually for damage control, much to his displeasure), outlined the problem, asked what she should do, and was done with it.

With Matsumoto, he never had to worry about someone being angry with him for days on end for something he had no knowledge about. In fact, it was usually Matsumoto who came to inform him that he had done something to upset the more petite of the two fukutaichou. He would swear that sometimes he felt as if he were dating Matsumoto, not Hinamori, since Hinamori refused to speak up half the time about things that bothered her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go already…" Hinamori whined, tugging his arm gently.

"Huh? Oh yeah, okay," Hitsugaya said waking from his reverie and following her out the door.

_Sorry, here's a mini chapter…I feel bad for not updating in awhile. I'm still setting up the stage for my HitsuMatsu finale, so hang on tight. More to come. Mayonaka no Taiyou_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: KTNM. -v-

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter 4**

Dinner went rather uneventfully with Hinamori monopolizing the conversation as usual and Hitsugaya giving vague indications that he was listening. He _always _took her to the best restaurants, as his status as taichou afforded him the best seating wherever he went, told her to order whatever she wanted, and paid for everything like a true gentleman. And Hinamori was no cheap date. She was and had always been a finicky eater. She did not really eat meat, but she loved high-class seafood and of course ordered the most expensive items on the menu without hesitation. Hitsugaya did not really mind, but he definitely had simpler tastes, preferring something as simple and traditional as chazuke (tea poured over rice and dried seaweed or sour plum) and pickled vegetables. However, he never voiced his preferences, always taking her to places that _she _would enjoy, and she never did ask.

After Hitsugaya had settled the exorbitant bill _she_ had mostly racked up, they headed to the theater for an after-dinner show. While he was a shinigami of few words, Hinamori's busy chatter stirred the still night air all the way to the theater. He managed to catch bits and pieces of her monologue, but frowned slightly when he realized that most of it was idle gossip with little to know informational or intellectual value.

"So, I was at the cafeteria, and you'll never guess who I ran into…Oh by the way, did you know that Zaraki-taichou and Kyouraku-taichou use the same hair wax? I hear Kyouraku-taichou hates frizz and well, I don't know about Zaraki-taichou but yeah, I suppose that wax must do wonders—I wonder how those bells stay on—anyway, that's what I heard from—oh, I just remembered something, did I mention that you have to be at the exhibition tomorrow to show the newly entered students of the academy how to call out your shikai? Sorry, there was a letter for you and it looked important, so I took the liberty of opening it and answering it…But I just remembered now so…."

This was one of the things that irked Hitsugaya about Hinamori—there was just_ nothing_ that was intellectual coming out of her mouth. Most of it was complaining and idle gossip. He came to realize that if anything, silence was better than listening to her gab on and on. Knowing it would be rude to sigh, he simply focused his attention on the clouds slightly masking the moon. He was just admiring the subtle beauty that the moon had to offer when he felt his arm being tugged and allowed himself to be led inside the theater hall.

After they were seated and the lights finally dimmed to signal the start of the show, Hinamori became silent, clearly interested in the play and cuddled cutely next to him. Hitsugaya remained as stiff as a board. He watched for several minutes before deciding that this play was pure fluff and not worth his time. His thoughts drifted in and out between the show and work. His mind entertained him by replaying the events of the day.

_This morning…_

"_Taichou!" _

"_Why are you late again, Matsumoto?" he muttered grumpily._

"_Sorry, I broke your teapot this morning while I was cleaning it. I had to go and buy another one."_

"_While I'm not happy about losing yet ANOTHER teapot, I'm glad you at least thought to buy another one."_

"_Here's your tea," she said putting it on his desk. He nodded and took the steaming cup and put it to his lips. _

"_Excuse me, Hitsugaya-taichou and Matsumoto-fukutaichou," called a voice from outside the door. "I have a message."_

"_Report."_

"_This is to verify this morning's activities. I report, today at 6:02 am, the members of seats numbering 25-50 were dispatched this morning to assess the problem with the hollows that have been appearing in the eastern part of the Rukongai. Damage control was also dispatched at 7:34 am. We are awaiting reports from those two squads. No further comments."_

"_Good work," Hitsugaya said. "Dismissed."_

"_Excuse me for interrupting you."_

"_Everyone certainly is working hard this morning!" commented Matsumoto as she rummaged around the front of her uniform, much to Hitsugaya's embarrassment. _

"_Quit doing that!" he said turning around._

"_I'm looking for something—oh! Here it is," she said, lifting up her rack and pulling a stack of slightly crumpled envelopes tucked away in her sash. "Whoa, girls," she said, to the nearly spilling out boobage._

"_What the hell, Matsumoto!" he said, blushing furiously._

"_Oh, here. Your mail—one, two, three, four…hmm…ONE, two, three, four…uh oh. I could have sworn there were 5 this morning when I went to pick up your mail…." Matsumoto flipped through the stack again with no luck. "Umm…" she looked up curiously as if trying to remember something. "That's right!" she said slapping her fist into her open palm._

"_What?"_

"_The last one was a box!"_

"_So where's the box?" Hitsugaya said impatiently, eager to get on with his work._

"_Um…hmm…now where did I put it…?" Matsumoto looked around, patting the black fabric along her legs and derriere. "Oh, hmm…let's see. I went to the mailbox, saw Kira, talked to him…he gave me money for the sake and I put that with the box so I wouldn't lose it…oh right, in between my Miki and Kiki!" Matsumoto reached in between said mammaries and pulled out a small flat box in otherwise perfect condition._

"_Since when did you give names to your body parts?" murmured Hitsugaya, trying vainly not to blush._

"_Here you go, taichou!" she said cheerily, putting the box on his desk. "Good thing my breasts are so ample and soft. They protected your box that says, 'FRAGILE—DO NOT SMASH'," she grinned, pointing to them for emphasis._

"_Matsumoto, just hurry up and go check on the Damage Control squad!" he ordered._

"_Okay, okay, no need to get upset," she called as she walked out waving._

"_Matsumoto."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Aren't you forgetting something?"_

"_I don't think so. Am I?"_

"_Zanpakutou!" he growled, chucking her zanpakutou at her._

"_Oh, here you are!" she said happily hugging the weapon. "Long time no see! I was looking for you!"_

"_Matsumoto, NOW!"_

"_Okay, I'm going, I'm going! Sheesh—no need to be all uptight about everything…someone's suffering from lack of SOMETHING…"_

That was this morning. Sometimes he was _sure_ she did what she did _just _to piss him off and get his blood pressure up.

_Stupid Matsumoto. Oh well, at least there was never a dull moment. Goddamn Matsumoto and her free-spirited, whimsical, fun loving, lazy—damn her and her big, soft-looking—whoa. Okay, let's not go there…Unsexy thoughts, unsexy thoughts…Yamamoto-soutaichou in a dress—better yet a bikini—bleh, ok, I'm good. Damn her. I hate when I have these stupid impure thoughts. _

Hitsugaya cursed Matsumoto's attractiveness, damning it to the fiery depths of hell, for making him feel so naughty. Then for some reason, his mind turned to Hinamori and their relationship.

"_I love you…" Hinamori told him those three words everyday as soon as they started going out. But for the serious 10-bantai taichou, never in his life had he heard of such a meaningless phrase. He never really understood what those words meant. 'To love someone'…'I love you'…He never said those words back to her, and she never really noticed, but it bothered him that she always said that and never felt he urge to tell her them back—no matter how meaningless they might be._

_Once, while he was cleaning his office, he found a bunch of magazines and novels that Matsumoto had left lying around. All of them were either romance novels or manga, some of the erotic nature, much to his embarrassment. In these pieces of literary trash, he read of princes and heroes going to great lengths for their damsel in distress, slaying hollows and monsters, sacrificing everything for the woman they loved, so that one day they might be together and live happily ever after._

_Hitsugaya may have been inexperienced in the relationship department, but he was no fool. While Aizen might have slipped from his radar, he was still fairly decent at reading people, their intentions, and their emotions. _

The play ended with a roaring applause that brought Hitsugaya back to reality.

"I must stop day-dreaming," he mumbled to himself as he stood up.

"That was a—amazing," Hinamori sobbed. "Shiro-chan, oh my god, isn't that romantic?"

"Huh?"

"How the duke sold everything he owned, was disowned by his family, shunned by his friends—all just to save his impoverished lover from the evil dictator."

"That's just retarded," Hitsugaya mumbled. He thanked his lucky stars that Hinamori was so specific and despite always wanting to talk about the show, she at least always gave away the plot. He never really had to actually watch the sorry excuse for entertainment thanks to Hinamori's naïveté

"What! Why!" Hinamori said, glomping on to his arm as they exited the play.

"Because," he said, strolling out into the cool air.

"Because, what?" she pouted. "What would you have done then?"

"Called out Hyourinmaru and defeated the bad guy of course," he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, but that's so unromantic!"

"That duke was just foolish to act without thinking things through. Why should I sell my possessions and give up the livelihood that would support my lover and myself just to save my lover? Isn't that counterproductive? Wouldn't it make more sense to just defeat the bad guy, save the princess and live happily ever after?" That was one of the problems of being a child prodigy. He was usually too smart and logical for his own good. He rarely was able to enjoy something fluffy like the romance sap that Hinamori loved. 

"But that's not romantic!" she exclaimed as they neared her apartment.

"Well, it's not like he loved her any less. I mean, he still went and saved her, right?" he pointed out, walking her to her door. He unlocked the door for her with his key and pushed it open for her. He was about to follow her into the living room, but stopped at the shoe area. "Hinamori, forgive me, but I think I'll go home—"

"But it's Friday, Shiro-chan! You usually don't go home until Saturday," Hinamori whined as she pulled him into her apartment, causing him to lose his grip on the door, causing the door to slam shut.

"I'm feeling under the weather, I don't want you to get sick on the account of me."

"Noooooooooooooo! Stay with me! PLEEEEEEEEAAAAAASE!"

"No, I have to get up early in the morning too." Hitsugaya walked towards the door once more.

"Shiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrooooo-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaann!"

"Shhh! It's late, you'll bother your neighbors."

"But, Shiro-chan—"

"Hinamori, let's not quarrel over this. It's late, I have a full day tomorrow—"

"But it's the weekend and the weekend's our time—"

"I have to do that demonstration and I have to go open up for Matsumoto tomorrow so she can finish her reports. I also have a mountain of paperwork that needs to get done."

"But, Shiro-chan—"

"Hinamori, I have responsibilities!"

"You have a responsibility to me too, though! I'm your girlfriend!"

"Hinamori, stop being so childish! I'm putting people's lives on the line every time I send members of my bantai out to investigate. A bad call on my part could mean not only huge financial damages, but also tremendous fatalities! I have to go in tomorrow to resolve that hollow situation in the Eastern part of the Rukongai!"

"I am _not_ childish!"

"You're acting spoiled and selfish!"

"How mean!"

"It's the truth—"

"You always put work before us!" she screamed.

"I don't do it intentionally!" he shot back, even louder. "I try to spend whatever free time I do have here with you. I take you out when you want to go out, I _live _here most of the week! Have I ever mistreated you, taken advantage of you? I've never asked you for anything in return—I've never expected anything in return! Everything I've done was for you! What more do you want, Hinamori!"

"Shiro-chan…I'm…"

"You know what, I'm drained. I'm going home. I don't need this from you now. Good night." Hitsugaya stomped off towards the door, shoving it open and slamming it shut.

"Well, excuse me for trying to spend time with you!" she screamed from behind the closed door.

Hitsugaya, all worked up from his argument with Hinamori, for the first time in a long time, used his shunpo to get home.

"Oh yeah, we're totally compatible—psh," he mumbled as he bounded towards his own apartment. "Right, Hinamori and I are about as compatible as Matsumoto and deadlines…" he muttered rolling his eyes as he soared through the crisp late night air.

---------------------

_Cue ending theme…_

_Matsumoto: Emotions are running high and the air is thick with tension. Poor taichou, he's under a lot of stress thanks to Hinamori-chan. _

_Hitsugaya: MATSUMOTO!_

_Matsumoto: Uh-oh, looks like he's in a pretty bad mood. He's gonna kill me. I just dropped his new teapot…I guess no tea for taichou this morning…not to mention I had to throw away a few reports because they were soaked from the tea…I hope he doesn't notice…shhh, I won't tell if you won't._

_Hitsugaya: MATSUMOTO!_

_Matsumoto: Coming! Anyway, guess who gets more screen time next chapter? No, not Miki and Kiki…ME, of course! Yup, yup. I finally get more screen time with my cute little taichou! But how will things work out? Taichou's relationship is on the rocks…I think I better step in and 'help' him out a bit. Stay tuned—things are gonna take a wild turn._


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: KTNM.

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter 5**

Hitsugaya ended up at the office much earlier than he expected the next morning. He _planned _to sleep, but he was so upset about his fight with Hinamori, after a few restless hours, he decided to just take a bath and go in to the office. As he stood under the hot running water, he used the time to contemplate his current predicament.

'Why do I always feel like such an asshole when we fight? I feel as though I did something unforgivable like hitting or abusing her. She's practically family to me; how the hell did all this turn into such a mess?' he thought as he rubbed his temples under the soothing droplets.

'_What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Toushirou? Jeez, just being her boyfriend is so exhausting. I'm glad she's been able to move past the whole Aizen betrayal incident, but I don't know how much more of this I can take. Especially recently—we've just been fighting so much now. All we do is fight. Then I have to end up apologizing and making up for something I didn't do. Why do we keep fighting? If there's anything she wants or needs, I go out and buy it for her. If there's anything she wants me to do, I drop everything and do it for her. But for some reason, we still fight….'_

Hitsugaya rinsed the soap off his lean body and turned the water off. He towel dried his hair and managed to put on his uniform correctly as he sort of wandered out of his quiet apartment lost in his thoughts, guided by the street lamps, somehow making his way to his office. When he arrived at the deserted building, the giant clock on the outside of the building was just chiming four o'clock. The chimes snapped him back to reality and he looked up at the dark building, only to blink twice as he saw one office light on—his.

"Hmm, that's funny," he muttered, as he stuck his key into the side door to let himself in. "I could have sworn I turned off my lights before I left yesterday…" he continued as he walked down the dimly lit silent halls. Sure enough, his door was open and the light had been left on. As he neared his office, he reached back to clutch his zanpakutou. He peered in and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that there was no one there.

"I must've forgotten to turn it off," he shrugged as he walked to his desk.

"Taichou!" said a familiar voice that tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"M-M-Matsumoto! What the hell are you doing here!" he shouted in surprise as he turned around.

"Good morning, taichou!" she waved cheerfully.

"Don't pretend you didn't hear me," he said crossing his arms. "Do you _know_ what time it is?"

"Of course I do. 4 a.m. You know what they say, 'the early chick catches the bug.'"

"Don't you mean 'the early bird catches the worm'?"

"Isn't that what I said?"

"Look, stop changing the subject! Now what are you doing wasting electricity in my office at this hour?"

"You know me—"

"That's exactly why I'm asking."

"Hey! I came in early to assist you with your paperwork—"

"No, you didn't. Now tell me why you're here."

"Oh, all right. You caught me—"

"Wait, how did you get in here in the first place?"

"You left your window open."

"Oh. So now tell me why are you here again?"

"You see, we—"

"Who's 'we'?"

"Me, Kira, and Renji—Anyway, we were drinking at Kira's place and playing strip gin rummy—"

"Strip gin rummy? I'm not even going to ask."

"Yes, and just when Kira won my top and Miki and Kiki were about to be let out for some exposure—"

"Don't talk about them like they're your pets," he muttered.

"—You'll never guess who came knocking at the door—"

"Who?"

"You'll never guess, and I'm getting to that. Just listen. Okay, I didn't care who it was at the time. All I knew was that I couldn't have Miki and Kiki bouncing around in front of little boys, so I offered to get the door."

"How kind of you to do so," he mumbled.

"And gracious—"

"Don't forget humble."

"You know it. Anyway, it was Hinamori-chan!"

"Hinamori!"

"Yes, and crying her poor eyes out again too—"

"And?"

"Well, we couldn't very well send her back home or leave her outside—and you don't sound too concerned, but—so, we invited her in for some drinks. She wouldn't tell us what was wrong initially, but oh, behold the supreme power of alcohol. One sip and she was spilling all the dirty details, about how 'Shiro-chan the Meanie' yelled at her again and—"

Hitsugaya sighed. "How does all of this tie in to you being here? I _know_ why we fought. _I_ was there. I don't need you to tell me that—"

"Ooh, how cold!"

"Matsumoto!"

"Okay, okay, sheesh. I just thought," she said turning serious. "That you might need someone to listen to what you—"

"Great, you can start by taking down this memo to Yama—"

"No, no, I mean, well, I'm not taking sides or anything and I may be crossing the line…Hinamori-chan and I may be friends, but my loyalty to you always takes precedence. I just wanted to let you know that if you need someone to talk to—"

"I'm fine—"

"No, really, I just thought you looked like you were under a lot of stress, which may just be the eastern Rukongai problem. But, I know I haven't been the most helpful subordinate and I apologize for being so inconsiderate."

"What goes on between Hinamori and I is none of your concern—although I appreciate the thought," Hitsugaya said heading for the door. "Excuse me."

"My humblest apologies for being so presumptuous."

"Don't concern yourself over it." Hitsugaya walked out of his office and down the dark hall, leaving Matsumoto behind.

"Hey, where are you going?" she called after him.

"To make some tea. And then I'm going to do some work. You owe me some reports also, don't you?" he responded, not looking back.

"Is it okay to be avoiding problems like this, taichou?" she called as she started to chase after him.

Suddenly Hitsugaya stopped in his tracks.

"Taichou," Matsumoto said, running to catch up with him. "You sure?"

"Just drop it."

"Right. I apologize." Matsumoto stepped back, turned around, took a step, and then turned back around. She shuffled behind with her arms clasped behind her back.

"Why are you still following me?"

"No reason," she said cheerfully as she followed him into the little kitchenette. While Hitsugaya boiled some water, Matsumoto hopped on to the counter and dangled her legs in a very Yachiru-like fashion. Hitsugaya took out a bag of tea, a teapot, and the tiny strainer for the tea from the cupboard and set the items on a round tray on the counter. He then turned to slide open the window in hopes of letting some air in the stuffy room. He was rewarded with a cool breeze that rustled his uniform slightly and moved on to Matsumoto, prompting her to run her long fingers through her bangs. Neither said a word for several minutes, both simply lost in their thoughts.

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya murmured suddenly. "I think I've made a terrible mistake."

"Hm?" she said rather distractedly.

"I think I've made a terrible mistake."

"Oh?" she said, hopping off the counter, and walking over to Hitsugaya who was leaning on the windowsill with one arm dangling out.

"I should've—no, I can't figure out—damn! Why, why was I so stupid? Why did I go and—" he sighed, messing his hair with his hands in frustration. He closed his eyes and began massaging his temples.

"Don't worry. They'll be fine—"

"They? What do you mean, 'they'?"

"The members of our bantai in eastern Rukongai—"

"Eastern Rukongai! Forget eastern Rukongai! I've got more pressing problems than eastern Rukongai; like Hinamo—" Hitsugaya stopped in mid-sentence at the realization of what he said aloud. "You didn't hear that—"

"Taichou…"

Hitsugaya sighed. "I guess there's no pretending like you didn't hear that."

"Hear what?" she asked wide-eyed, allowing a poor gaping Hitsugaya to sputter a bit before snapping back to her usual self. "Sorry, just kidding. I heard you."

"I don't know what to do, to be honest…"

"Taichou..."

"She says that she loves me, but I can't help but feel that she's not _really_ in love with me. It's like she's in love with the _idea_ of having a boyfriend…"

"Taichou, do _you_ loveHinamori-chan?"

"I care for her, but like a little sister—"

"I thought Hinamori-chan was older—"

"She is."

"Oh."

"But Hinamori and I, we just…we're not…we're not compatible, Matsumoto. We were okay as friends, but as a couple, we're too different," he sighed. "She wants me to be with her all the time, but my first responsibility is to my bantai. Why can't she understand that? All she cares about is playing house—"

"Playing house?"

"Which, she doesn't do very well either. I've never complained, but she can't cook, she can't clean, and most of all, she can't make a decent cup of—oh, thank you." He was about to say, 'tea', but as he was about to say it, Matsumoto reading his mind, placed a steaming cup in front of him.

"You're welcome," she said, cupping her hands around the steaming beverage.

"When did the kettle go off?"

"Somewhere between, 'Hinamori's the older one' and 'we're not compatible.'"

"Oh. Well, thank you. Matsumoto, she always buys the wrong kind of tea," he complained, indulging this one time. "She always buys oolong tea. I hate oolong tea. The one time she actually bought the green tea, she forgot to strain the tea before serving it," he sighed as he took a sip of his tea. "I hate to admit it, but it seems like the only one who knows how I like my tea is you, Matsumoto," he said staring miserably at the silhouette of his reflection in the glassy surface of the tea.

"I'm honored, but just because Hinamori-chan can't make tea or is bad at cooking, I'm sure there's more—"

"Well, there's also the fact that she has no appreciation for the fine arts or literature—"

"She likes fine dining," Matsumoto offered.

"Very funny," he said gloomily. "I took her to a museum once and she spent the entire time in the gift shop."

"Well, that's not so bad, at least she was supporting the local artisans community, right?"

"I wanted to take her to a concert, but she hates traditional music and theatre."

"But she likes what's that new, upcoming playwright…? Um..Naka-something. Not Nakasone, Naka…Nakakura Hisato! Yeah, his work—"

"His work is complete trash, Matsumoto! That guy could not write a play to save his life!"

"Well, beauty is in the eye of the key-holder."

"Beholder."

"Isn't that what I said?"

"Anyway, remember that exhibition I asked you to do for those rich kids and their affluent parents a while back?"

"Yeah, it was for charity, right? That was nice of you to send such a huge chunk of the money you raised to the village that Gin rescued me from."

"You knew about that?"

"Of course. I have my sources."

"You were snooping again, weren't you?"

"Was not…not really. 'Snooping' is such a strong word, don't you think?"

"Well, it was just a coincidence that it was that particular…"

"'Just a _coincidence_? Riiiiiiight. Taichou, do you do that every year?"

"Yeah, several times. The Shinigami Women's Association does the promotion of the benefit and we have all kinds of exhibitions and duels to raise money for charity. All the money we charge for the event, either as entrance fees to watch or participation fees goes to charity."

"Serious on the outside, but soft-hearted on the inside…" Matsumoto whispered.

"Did you say something?"

"Huh? Me? No."

"I wanted Hinamori to come—not to participate, just to watch. But, she said charity 'wasn't her thing' though," Hitsugaya said rather dejectedly.

"Oh, is that like the one today?"

"Yeah. Zaraki's probably already over there setting up."

"Zaraki-taichou? I didn't know he was interested in charity work."

"He isn't, but Kusajishi's the promoter. He comes to every other one for her. It was her idea to have a 'Special Ken-chan Bell Duel.'"

"'Special Ken-chan Bell Duel?'"

"All the entrants are in an arena with Zaraki. They all swarm and attack Zaraki at the same time. The first one to cut one of his bells off his hair is the winner."

"Do people actually show up to see that?"

"Yeah. The number of idiots who line up to try to cut the bell off is even more unbelievable."

"Wait, I thought you were supposed to be at that shinigami academy thing—"

"I'll go in between," he shrugged. "I wasn't planning to go because I felt that, well, the shinigami academy thing…they can get anyone to do that. Anyone with remote experience with a zanpakutou could do that."

"Is Hinamori-chan going?"

"Probably not. She only took the liberty of signing me up for it…Besides, it's not a kidou exhibition, so she's 'not interested.'"

"I see."

"I guess it never really was meant to be between her and me. I tried—but we're just too different. Our priorities are completely different. I'm sure that it's not healthy to be fighting as much as we do. I'm tired of it, really, but…"

"You know, if I were you, I would just break up with her already."

"What? Matsumoto, but—"

"Taichou, why did you even start going out with Hinamori in the first place?"

"Because…"

"Because?"

"Well, I…" and the whole story about how she misinterpreted his actions as affection and how he was just trying to be a good friend post Aizen incident came tumbling out.

"So, basically, you never were interested from the beginning?"

"No. But I was trying to be a good friend. And it must have been me, since I led her on. So, because I led her on, I had to take responsibility for making her think that I was interested in her—"

"But you didn't do it on purpose, right?"

"Of course not!"

"So, this whole relationship was based on guilt?"

"Yeah," Hitsugaya nodded guiltily. "I didn't mean it! I tried to tell her—" Hitsugaya said, his voice quivering slightly.

"But you couldn't break her heart after what she had been through—"

"Matsumoto, she needed me—"

"Taichou, listen to yourself. It's not like you to get so worked up like this. Besides, I hate to tell you this, but this isn't love; it's pity.Okay, so Hinamori-chan was someone who was dealt an unfair and harsh blow by destiny and you don't want to add to her pain and suffering. But it shouldn't be at your expense. Listen, taichou. I'm probably the last person who should be telling you this, but love isn't something you can fake. If you want the relationship to work, it can't be based on guilt. This may sound cruel, but the best thing you can do for the both of you is break up with her."

"Matsumoto…"

"Well, it's not like you haven't thought about it."

"It…may…may have crossed my mind," Hitsugaya said in a tiny voice. "Once or twice…"

"If you two are fighting this much, one of you is probably thinking about breaking up with the other at least once every day—"

"_Who _told you!" Hitsugaya demanded suddenly.

"Huh? No one; I just figured as much."

"Oh."

"Taichou?"

"Yeah?"

"While we're on the subject, why _haven't _you broken up with Hinamori-chan already?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, it seems like it's tiring for you to be in the relationship, you don't even share the same feelings for each other, you're on completely different wavelengths in terms of maturity, I mean, so _why _do you even bother—"

"Well, because it's not like I hate her or anything. I mean, she clearly is showing something for me, right? She tells me she 'loves me' everyday—" Hitsugaya stopped to take a breath and a sip of now lukewarm tea. "Besides, she said she wants to gr-mrph-prd," he mumbled.

"What? I'm sorry I missed that," Matsumoto said leaning closer to him, cupping her ear slightly.

"She said she wants to gr-mrph-prd."

"I can't understand you if you mumble."

"I said, 'SHE WANTS TO GET MARRIED!'"

"Oh. That complicates things a bit, doesn't it?"

"You think?" Hitsugaya exhaled miserably and set his empty teacup on the table between them.

_Last week…_

"_Shiro-chan?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_We've been going out for awhile and well, we're in love, right?"_

"_What about it?"_

"_I was thinking—"_

"_That's a first," he mumbled under his breath._

"_Did you say something?"_

"_No, just your imagination. What were you thinking about?"_

"_I was thinking that we should get married—"_

"_MARRIED!"_

"_Yeah."_

"_You and ME?" he squeaked._

"Whom else would I be talking about? Of course I'm talking about us—" 

"_What's the rush, Hinamori?" he said nervously. "I mean we have time."_

"_Shiro-chan," she whined. "Marriage is the ultimate symbol of undying love and—"_

"_Hinamori, now let's not rush into things."_

"_But we already practically live together like a married couple. I want to get married and wear white with a huge ceremony, lots of guests, and—"_

"_Yeah, but I'm a taichou."_

"_What's that got to do with anything? Kaien-san was married—"_

"_But he was not taichou—"_

"_What's the difference?"_

"_Do you know of any taichou that are married?"_

"_Well, no, but—"_

"_Hinamori, I worked so hard to get where I am today—"_

"_Are you saying that I didn't?"_

"_No, I'm just saying that I don't want to compromise my job or responsibilities—"_

"_Wait, so if I asked you to choose between me and being a taichou, you would choose—"_

"_Hinamori, don't make me do this," he begged._

"_Well?"_

"So, that's why we got into a fight. She wants to get married and she's asking me to choose between my job and her."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. I just went for a walk."

"And Hinamori-chan didn't get mad?"

"I don't know, I let her cool off and she kinda started talking to me again a few days later. Matsumoto, I don't know what to do. I know I dug my own grave, but I don't know how to get out of this mess—" he said rubbing his temples.

"Well, if you had to choose, which would you choose?"

"Huh?"

"If you had to choose, your position as taichou or your relationship with Hinamori-chan, which would you choose?"

"I don't know—"

"You can't have both in the end. You know that by now. Ultimately you're going to have to choose."

"I know…."

"But if you want my advice, figure out which is more important to you first. If you don't know, then I can't help you. Anyway, thanks for the tea. You better start heading out to your benefit, taichou. The sun's already up and I'm going to bed. Boy, all that alcohol sure made me sleepy," she yawned.

With that, Matsumoto stretched, dusted her hakama, and with one graceful motion, leaned down and brushed her full lips against Hitsugaya's forehead. She straightened up, ruffled the hair of an extremely stunned taichou, and skipped out the door, leaving Hitsugaya wide-eyed, speechless, and with a slight blush across his cheeks.

To be continued…cue ending theme… 

_Matsumoto: Oooooh! Guess who got a kiss-poo._

_Hitsugaya: MATSUMOTO! No fair!_

_Matsumoto: I'll take it he enjoyed that freebie, hee hee. Well, as if my taichou's life isn't complicated enough. Looks like I just made things more interesting! Taichou's not sure of his priorities, his girlfriend wants to marry him, and here I am throwing a wrench into all of this. _

_Yachiru: Home-wrecker!_

_Matsumoto: I AM NOT a home-wrecker._

_Yachiru: Cradle-robber!_

_Matsumoto: I AM NOT a cradle-robber!…(yet)…Shhhh! Here's a pork bun—_

_Yachiru: (between munches) Next time, something's going on between big-boobie and shortie!_

_Hitsugaya: You have no right to call me 'shortie'…_


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: KTNM.

Author's note: To my loyal readers, thank you all for your patience. I know it's been months since I've updated this. And I hope your interest has not faded on account of my writer's block. I think I've finally decided what to do with this story. I've fixed the plot hole, I think. For your patience, this chapter's an extra long one. Yup, I usually write about 10 pages before calling it a chapter. But I feel bad for making you all wait so long, so I'm giving you all an extra dosage (double!!) of the HitsuMatsu goodness. I'm sorry, I really tried, but there's some Hinamori bashing in this. This chapter's got a lot of serious undertones, plus action, flashbacks, and even a bit of stupidity, but you'll never guess what wrench I've thrown in this time. Anyway, I'm sorry if it seems a bit rushed. I just wanted to get it all out to you all. Well without further ado, I present the sixth chapter with HitsuMatsu (slight OOC-ness) sweetness to rot your teeth. Enjoy!

_Edit: By the way, this is just an edit to this chapter, you can find more information about this fic on my profile page. I write a little reflection on my profile page after I write a chapter including stuff like future plans, things I liked or didn't like, stuff like that, if you are interested. I'm happy with the response that this fic has been getting. I hope to get another chapter out after my exams are over and I fly back home for an early spring break. I also forgot to write the little Chapter 7 preview at the end, so I have a little Chapter 7 teaser for you all..._

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter 6**

Hitsugaya spent the rest of the weekend, pondering the significance of Matsumoto's kiss. Unable to really focus on the weekend's activities, he spent most of his time in a dazed, dream-like state, floating between flashbacks and recollections of various conversations, trying his best to sort out his feelings for the two most prominent women in his life.

_-- _

"_Shiro-chan, I love you. I love you more than anything else in the world…"_

_--_

"_What is 'love'? I don't understand this feeling…Why does it make people do and say such foolish things…? Is it only something that women feel?"_

"_I'm sorry, taichou, did you say something?"_

"_Me? No. Nothing. Just talking to myself."_

_--_

"_Tell me, why am I always the one who gets left behind? Everyone I know either tries to protect me or abandons me…Tell me why, white chrysanthemum. Why am I so lonely like you? No continuity in life. Always being uprooted and forced to start over again alone…Never peaceful—always chaos and disorder. You know, I always hated my name, "Rangiku," "ran" meaning "disorder" and "kiku" the "chrysanthemum," but now I see it suits my life nice—"_

"_Who are you talking to, Matsumoto?"_

"_Taichou! How embarrassing; I'm sorry, did my drunken babbling wake you? How long have you been standing there listening to me?"_

"_Long enough to wonder who or what you're talking to."_

"_Just these white chrysanthemums over here. Don't they look so inviting under the pale moonlight? They are good listeners, taichou. They never judge or—"_

"_I think it's a nice name."_

"_What?"_

"_Rangiku. It suits you." _

"_Really? You're the first. I always wished it were something else. Something cuter, like Hinamori-chan. Hinamori Momo. Don't you think that's so much cuter? Peaches ("momo" means "peach" in Japanese) are so much better than chrysanthemums, don't you think? Peaches are soft on the outside, sweet, and blossom so beautifully. Chrysanthemums…well the white ones at least…they're just plain old funeral flowers…"_

"_Peaches are common. They're everywhere. Anyone can enjoy them. They're sweet. But chrysanthemums, even the white ones, are more exotic, I think. Theirs is a rarer beauty that is to be appreciated, even if only be for the sake of a ceremony."_

_--_

"_Shiro-chan, what's more important, me or your bantai?! Because it certainly seems like your work is FAR more important than me! You don't care, do you? You don't care about me at all!"_

"_Hinamori—"_

"_You don't even call me by my first name!"_

"_Hinamori, if I didn't give a damn about you, I would not have lived with you while you recovered. I would have left you in the care of 4-bantai. If I didn't care about you, I would not have spent time with you, taken you places, been there when you were down, tried to help you move on with your life, paid for everything up until now—"_

"_Oh, I see how it is! You're just mad because you had to pay for everything?! Well, here's your money. How much?!"_

"_It's not about the money! Put your money away! You're missing the goddamn point, Hinamori! It's not about my paying or anything like that. I would not have done the things I have done if I didn't truly care about you! It's like you're always trying to pick a fight with me! I do have other responsibilities! Why can't you understand that?!" _

"_Oh, like to your bantai—"_

"_Look just because Aizen betrayed you and you had to be relieved of your duties—"_

"_That's low, Shiro-chan!"_

"_Look, don't take it out on me that you couldn't have the kind of relationship you wanted with your bantai—"_

"_It's not like that—"_

"_Then what, Hinamori?! Every time I work late or I have to cancel on you and go to some sort of bantai-related business, or even when I have to go to meetings with Matsumoto, you get upset and don't speak to me for days! I would think that you, above everyone else, should understand what it's like to be in a position of high responsibility. You act like you're jealous or something—"_

"_I'm not jealous!"_

"_Well, you certainly act like it—"_

"_But you spend more time at work with Matsumoto than you do with me—"_

"_Matsumoto is my fukutaichou!"_

"_And I'm your girlfriend."_

"_And you used to be a fukutaichou! You took the same vow as I did, when we graduated from the academy and were admitted into the ranks of the Gotei 13, our job is to protect the Seireitei. We swore that we would protect all those in need of protection, fighting for justice and righteousness. I don't know what your priorities and sort of agenda you had for entering the Gotei 13, but I entered not for fame or glory or so that I could kill things, but so I could protect that which is important to me."_

_--_

"_Taichou, have you ever wanted to protect someone or something so badly that it hurt? And being unable to protect it made you wish you weren't quite so powerless?"_

"_Matsumoto…"_

"_Just kinda reflecting and regretting some parts of my past…I guess Ichigo and I have more in common than I realized. Neither of us likes to be protected. You know, that's why I wanted to become a shinigami. I wanted to be strong, strong enough to protect those most dear to me. Not being able to do that is so…frustrating…"_

"_Why not go for taichou?"_

"_Nah…too much work and responsibility. Besides I like serving under you."_

"_Oh, and why is that?"_

"_Because I know I can trust you. I know that you will always do the right thing and that in a bind, I can count on you. You always put the safety of our bantai first. And even when it's not a matter of safety, you've dedicated yourself to this bantai and all that goes on within it. Even when we as subordinates screw up, you always bear the responsibility—a true leader."_

"_And I wouldn't trust anyone else as my fukutaichou..."_

"_Sorry, did you say something?"_

"_Me? No…. You must be hearing things."_

"_Hmm, could've sworn I heard you mumble something."_

_--_

Granted, Hitsugaya realized that most of the deep conversations he had with Matsumoto had been while she was slightly under the influence of alcohol, it still did not change that fact that even an inebriated Matsumoto was a better conversationalist. Hinamori clearly did not share the same vested interest and became jealous at the mere fact that he was a workaholic and thereby spent most of his time at work. The child prodigy really had few interests outside of work and training with Hyourinmaru. He did not go out with other shinigami, he did not go out drinking, he did not belong to any clubs—basically his free time was allocated to rest and spending time with Hinamori. What actually bothered him was that it was not that Hinamori thought that he was cheating on her with Matsumoto by spending all those hours at the office, as suspicion could feed off of the long work hours, but the fact that she was always upset that he was even working late.

While Hinamori never accused him of being unfaithful, nor did he have any reason to believe that she was unfaithful, aside from the occasional random impure thought about "Miki and Kiki" that he attributed to hormones, no matter how many fights they got in, how much she yelled at him, how she said she loved him one minute and the next minute he was on her shit list; he always remained faithful to her. Hitsugaya never even considered cheating on Hinamori, no matter how unhappy he was in his current relationship, up until that fateful kiss from Matsumoto.

The emerald-eyed taichou was now trying to reevaluate his relationship and come to some sort of resolution to the problem. He was in a relationship with his rather immature, in his opinion, childhood friend, who also professed her love to him constantly and was talking about marriage. He did not even know what kind of feeling 'love' was supposed to be, and was in no position to begin courting the former 5-bantai fukutaichou for marriage. He felt that he could not really relate with his childhood friend and that they had completely different priorities. He also felt something for his fukutaichou, which proved to be a rather sticky situation in that he knew he was not supposed to be feeling things for other women. Of course, he was not sure how Matsumoto felt, as most of it; he interpreted to be playful banter. Stupid Matsumoto sending out her mysterious mixed signals. But at least he felt more of a connection to Matsumoto.

"This is bad," Hitsugaya sighed, in exhaustion at not being able to come to a resolution, much less a conclusion in terms of the complex relationships. He allowed his mind to wander into the zone where two chibi versions of himself often argued on the best plan of action…Today, one was carrying a fan that read, 'Team Matsumoto' and the other, 'Team Hinamori.' "My god, sometimes I even surprise _myself _at my mind's ability to be irrational and idiotic…" he muttered.

"…Oh, come on!" shouted one. "Matsumoto is a waaaaaaaaay better catch than Hinamori."

"Oh yeah, well Matsumoto's only his fukutaichou."

"His very _attractive _fukutaichou, might I add. With overflowing…_assets_…"

"Well, oozing sensuality is not everything!"

"Oh, and I presume being an airhead who can't even prepare her boyfriend's tea properly accounts for something?"

"Hey, Hinamori tries really hard. She's just having a tough time—"

"Tough time, what? Boiling the water and straining the tealeaves? You know, it's not rocket science. "

"Well, Hinamori's more, refined and cultured."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Well, let's just say that some of us know how to fill out reports properly, unlike some fukutaichou—"

"Are you insinuating that Matsumoto is an idiot because she can't write kanji correctly?"

"No, no. I'm saying that she's an idiot because she can't use the right kanji appropriately."

"At least Matsumoto has intelligent things to say. All that knowledge of kanji is practically useless if you don't have the mental capacity to express complex ideas. Besides, what are some of Hinamori's good qualities?"

"Well, she's…that is to say…she's cute and nice—"

"And spoiled, selfish, and self-centered."

"Well, what about Matsumoto, that lazy, totally not punctual, sloppy—"

"Hey, Matsumoto is totally loyal."

"As is Hinamori."

"To the wrong people of course."

"Hey, she didn't know that Aizen was a bastard."

"She was too trusting and naïve. Don't forget, she was also gonna kill us for assassinating Aizen. She believed whatever he told her, too caught up in admiration to be paying attention to what she should have been—"

"Well, I don't exactly see Matsumoto as the sharpest—"

"Matsumoto is extremely sensitive to mood and character, contrary to popular belief. She knew that _Ichigo _wasn't the bad guy, never was."

"That's only because her taichou ordered her to help him with the Aizen betrayal incident investigation."

"Well, taichou over here told Hinamori that he didn't kill Aizen and she didn't believe him because she was 'soooooo confused' and as a result, almost got him killed by Ichimaru. That's not too hot, either. Good thing _Matsumoto_ intervened—"

"She was just using some leverage she had with Ichimaru. He's got a soft spot for her and she really cares about him. You _know_ that. Hmmm, I wonder if push came to shove, who she would choose….?"

"Of course, she would choose her taichou over that fox-eyed sadistic bastard."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure. They're childhood friends—more than friends, no doubt. I wouldn't be surprised if they were sleeping together. Well, of course, now that Ichimaru has risen with Aizen and his betrayal is imminent, I guess it doesn't really matter if she was sleeping with him or not, but I can tell you one thing. Hinamori's love is guaranteed. _Guaranteed_. She's in love with him—"

"No, she _thinks_ she's in love with him—"

"You're missing the point. Hinamori has professed her love countless times—"

"And every time, there is no sincerity—"

"Oh, she's sincere all right. Besides, y_ou_ don't even know how Matsumoto feels. She could just be toying with his feelings—"

"Matsumoto isn't that kind of person—"

"Matsumoto is an attractive older woman. Hinamori is closer in age—"

"Age doesn't matter when you act like a spoiled child all the time."

"But could she, the free-spirit that she is, stand being in a relationship with a stick in the mud—"

"Hey, enough already, you two," shouted Hitugaya to the little chibis in his brain. "You two are not helping—"

"Sorry, boss."

"Don't call me boss. Your conversation is just convincing me more and more of the benefits of not pursuing anything with Matsumoto. And you're convincing me more and more of the necessity to break up with Hinamori. God. This isn't going _anywhere_. Enough already."

"Well, he's going out with Hinamori _now_. So there."

"Not for long…Not for long. Mark my words."

_Monday morning…_

Hitsugaya walked into his office to find a bound report on his normally immaculate desk that morning.

"Taichou, please advise. –10-bantai 11-seki, Sakasegawa Shinnosuke," Hitsugaya muttered, reading the sticky note that had been affixed to the report. "Five casualties, four MIA, rest of group dispatched to the Eastern Rukongai area are receiving treatment under the care of Unohana-taichou. Due to the unknown circumstances in which these deaths and injuries have occurred, autopsies must be performed and the issue of death certificates is likely to be delayed. Please advise at your earliest convenience."

Hitsugaya flipped through several of the pages as he chewed on his lower lip uneasily. After reading the contents of the report, which mostly outlined how the investigation team had practically been slaughtered in their attempt to gather more information about the hollows that were causing the disturbance, he slowly picked up the phone from its cradle.

"Hello, Gotei 13 Information Front Desk, how may I direct your call?"

"How long is the fukutaichou meeting supposed to last this morning?"

"May I ask who is calling?"

"Hitsugaya of 10-bantai."

"One moment please, Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Thank you."

"Thank you for waiting, Hitsugaya-taichou. The meeting is expected to run until lunch today."

"Is there any possibility of the meeting ending earlier?"

"I am not entirely familiar with the schedule for today, however, according to Ise-fukutaichou, it appears that it will be a long, tedious, drawn-out affair."

"I see. Would you mind contacting whoever is leading the discussion today and have them send Matsumoto-fukutaichou to my office immediately. We have a crisis that requires the immediate attention of 10-bantai."

"Very well. I will contact them at once."

"Thank you," Hitsugaya hung up the phone gently and began his paperwork for the morning.

Several minutes later, Matsumoto bounded up to his office.

"Taichou, is there something a matter?" she asked concernedly, standing in front of his desk.

"Matsumoto, I have just received word that the team we sent out to investigate the eastern Rukongai problem. 5 dead, many injured."

"No, it can't be…What's going on?"

"I don't know. But in the meantime, I want you to arrange and make all preparations. Have bouquets—white chrysanthemums, the largest size available, sent to the families upon arrival of the death certificates. Since the bodies are going to be detained for autopsy, just tell them that we need the flowers most likely within the next couple of weeks. Tell them to import the flowers if they have to."

"Yes, sir."

"Also, order arrangements, simple ones are fine, for those who are in the injured. Have the flowers sent as soon as possible and we'll visit them within the next couple of days to assess the damage and see if we can learn anything about the hollows."

"Understood."

"I'm going to the coroner's office to see if I can get more information and find out a little more as to what happened and what we can do. After you get the flowers squared away, all other duties are of lesser priority. We need to work on compensation, body transportation, contacting the family, reports, and when they are issued, the death certificates. All other members of this bantai are to standby for further instruction. The ones that have been dispatched to the Material World shall stay there until further notice. No one is to approach the Eastern Rukongai area without permission. I will talk to Yamamoto-soutaichou about sealing off that area."

"I will work on those things right away."

"I should be back this afternoon. We'll discuss the problem in greater detail then."

"Until then, excuse me."

_Late that afternoon…_

Matsumoto lay on the couch in Hitsugaya's office, stacks of paperwork piled onto the coffee table next to her as she filled out the fifty page compensation forms for those who had been injured. She sighed when she looked at the five two-hundred page forms for those who had been killed.

"So young too…" she breathed, as she turned the page.

Suddenly the door slid open, revealing a clearly exhausted taichou.

"Taichou!" exclaimed Matsumoto, sitting up. "What happened? And where have you been? It's almost six o'clock. I thought you wanted to go visit the injured this afternoon."

"Coroner's office. I was going to," he sighed, plopping himself in the armchair next to the sofa.

"What happened? Any leads?"

"Nothing. Autopsy revealed nothing. I just talked to Sakasegawa. They weren't able to find anything about the ability of the hollows. There were at least four of them. The investigation team was able to take care of the two weaker ones, which means that there are at least two other powerful hollows with unknown abilities out there."

Hitsugaya cracked his neck and began to massage his shoulders tiredly.

"Let me get that for you," Matsumoto said, standing up. "What about the bodies?" she asked, as she began massaging the stiff shoulders of the white haired taichou.

Hitsugaya, too tired to argue, simply mumbled, "Thanks," before continuing with his findings, "Not a single scratch on those that died. But the weird thing is, the ones in intensive care have no surface wounds, but they have really bad internal injuries. According to the psychiatric ward, those hollows also did a number on their heads. Some sort of Grand Fisher, maybe?"

"Did you go to see them?"

"No, I told them I'd come back with you tomorrow. How's the paperwork coming?"

"Slow. Flowers took longer than expected. I was working on the compensation forms. It's been a while since we've had one of these. Did you talk to Yamamoto-soutaichou?"

"Yeah, he said to do whatever is necessary to minimize injuries and casualties, but he can't spare us any extra staff because everyone else is tied up, which is understandable."

"What about sealing it off?"

"He said he would get someone out there to seal it off in the morning and referred me to the Sealers to give them the specifics," Hitsugaya sighed tiredly, almost melting into Matsumoto's soft hands. "But here's the problem, if we knew more about the situation, we could concentrate our efforts, but since we know so little, the only thing they can do is cover a large area with a weaker seal."

"Which means that if those hollows were determined, they could break that seal—"

"Exactly, so, the only thing we can do is hold off contact with that area. Did you put everyone on standby?"

"Yes. I informed them of the situation and they are starting a training program among themselves to prepare for future contact."

"Good work, Matsumoto."

"Taichou."

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Honestly, I don't know. We don't have much information, nor do we have the capacity to just launch an all out blind attack. That would just be suicide."

"What would you like to do?"

"Well, there's not much we _can _do. So, let's work on squaring away all the paperwork and arrangements. We'll go and see the injured tomorrow. Let everyone else train and prepare themselves."

"What about a second investigation team?"

"I was thinking about that. I don't know yet. Maybe we'll send higher ranking members with the team, like 5-seki, 6-seki, and 7-seki. Let's see if we can find out anything tomorrow."

"Right."

"You can go home already. I'll stay and work on some of these, so we don't fall too far behind. Good night. Thanks for the massage."

Hitsugaya stood up, dragging his feet to his desk. Matsumoto stared at her gloomy taichou and for the first time thought that the shortest taichou who tried to act like big and cool, but really had the biggest heart, looked small and frail. She knew from experience that the loss of even the lowest ranking or newest member upset him, even though he would never admit it. She knew that losing five members of their bantai, several missing, plus all the injuries, and not knowing what to do from here on out was killing the prodigy. Sighing heavily, her breath fluffing up her bangs, the perceptive fukutaichou knew what she had to do.

"What are you talking about?" she laughed heartily, slapping him playfully on the back, shocking the exhausted taichou slightly. "If you send me home, you won't have any tea all night long. And then guess who'll get the blame in the morning? You'll be grouchy tomorrow and you'll scold me for not having tea and having to stay all night by yourself."

"No, I wouldn't—"he protested.

"That settles it," she interrupted. "I'm not going home before you. Cuz' then you just tell everyone that 'Oh, that stupid Matsumoto never does anything around here. Why can't she be more like Ise-fukutaichou?' Can't let you have that satisfaction!"

"Matsumoto…" he said quietly, his eyes widening.

Matsumoto skipped over to his desk, picked up the tray with the teapot and the cup with the cold tea from that morning and skipped out.

"Be back in a sec! I'll just go make some tea and pick up some snacks!"

Hitsugaya's features melted and a small smile graced the usually serious face of the 10-bantai taichou.

_Several weeks later…._

Hitsugaya is sitting at his desk reviewing and signing reports. Matsumoto is sitting on the floor filling out paperwork, using the coffee table as her work surface.

"Shiro-chan, I can't take it anymore!" shouts Hinamori, as she slides open his office door with a bang.

"Is something a matter, Hinamori?" Hitsugaya asks, not looking up from his paperwork.

"What do you think?" she spat angrily.

"Matsumoto."

"Yes, taichou?" she asked tiredly.

"Sorry, would you mind bringing me some more tea?"

"Of course," she said standing up rather wearily, picking up the tray next to the stack of reports and walking out, shutting the door behind her.

"Now, what seems to be the problem?" he asked calmly.

"Shiro-chan, are you cheating on me?"

"Hinamori, what the hell—"

"Tell me. You never return my calls. You haven't been by to my apartment. I don't ever see you coming home to yours. Just tell me if you've got someone on the side—"

"Hinamori, what brought all this on?"

"Stop avoiding the question. Answer me!"

"No! Why the hell would I be cheating on you?"

"Well, then explain this," she said, chucking several receipts for florists and sweets.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"I found it when I let myself into your apartment. I was going to see if you were all right, if you needed me to do laundry or something. I thought it was stuffy, so I went to open the window and I saw these receipts."

"How long have you had this?"

"I don't know. About a week. I wasn't sure, but it's driving me crazy not knowing so tell me. Is there someone else? Because we haven't seen each other for weeks!"

"I've been busy here, as you can see. I have been swamped with paperwork recently—"

"So you don't come home?"

"No. Sometimes Matsumoto and I are here all night."

"Oh, so you're having something with Rangiku-san now?" she shrieked.

"Calm down, Hinamori. There's nothing going on between Matsumoto and I."

"Well, what about the flowers and candy? You can't expect me to ignore that because—"

"Hinamori, please," he said cutting her off, his voice quivering dangerously.

"But this weekend, I saw you come to the office with Matsumoto—"

"Hinamori!" he bellowed. "Okay, fine. You wanna know what I've been up to the past couple of weeks? Fine. About a month ago, I sent out an investigation team to check out a hollow problem. Several days later, I get a report that five members of my bantai ended up dead, four MIA, and a bunch of them were injured. I don't know what happened. No one does because the only ones who got close enough are dead. I've been working around the clock with Matsumoto on all the compensation, reports, and arrangements. The families of the dead want the coroners to release the bodies, but due to the unusual circumstances, they are detaining the bodies until further notice. The flowers were for their families and those who are still recovering from the incident.

Matsumoto and I have been coming in on the weekends to catch up on our regular paperwork so that we don't fall too far behind. Sometimes we stay overnight because we're frantically trying to finish stuff that was due days ago. Just last week, I got an order from Yamamoto-soutaichou to dispatch another investigation team, which ended in the same situation as the last time. Luckily, there were fewer casualties. The only saving grace was that there were no villages within the vicinity. Today, I still don't know much about those hollows, or where those four members of my bantai are. I was looking for those receipts so Matsumoto could file them in our expense log. We haven't gone home in three days. And to top it all of, my girlfriend comes barging in accusing me of cheating on her and not spending any time with her—"

"Shiro-chan…"

"Hinamori, what more do you want from me because I don't think I've got any more to give—"

"Excuse me, sorry for the wait," interrupted Matsumoto, bringing in the tea tray and setting it in front of a worked up Hitsugaya. "Oh, here are those receipts that I was looking for. See, I told you I didn't lose them. They were on your desk, taichou," she mumbled as she took them over to her makeshift work station.

"Hinamori, does it look like we've been playing around this entire time to you?" he said gesturing to the piles of paperwork that filled his office and Matsumoto who unceremoniously plopped back onto the ground, devoid of her usual perkiness, and began to record the receipts in the 10-bantai ledger.

"I…Shiro-chan…that is…I'm gonna go now," she stuttered before turning and running out of his office.

"This is bad, isn't it?" he sighed to himself as he sunk into his chair.

Hitsugaya did not hear from Hinamori for several days. Worried that she might have taken it the wrong way, even though she was the one who started it all, he still felt guilty for not being the greatest boyfriend to her, despite his uncertain feelings towards his female companions, which is why he decided that he would send Matsumoto home early because heaven knows she needed the rest and he would surprise Hinamori and take her out on a date later that evening.

"_I'll get her some roses_," he thought. "_Take her out to her favorite—_"

"Excuse me, Hitsugaya-taichou and Matsumoto-fukutaichou."

"Enter."

"I report. There appears to be a large stadium near the sealed off Eastern Rukongai area. We originally assumed that it was no longer in use because it had been under construction. However, according to our sources, there is to be an exhibition there today and tomorrow and the construction was in preparation of that."

"What kind of exhibition?" asked Matsumoto, as she was handed a diagram illustrating the problem.

"Zanpakutou."

"Which means that high emissions of reiatsu could draw the hollows to the stadium and the nearby villages," concluded Hitsugaya.

"Taichou, we've got to go stop that exhibition from happening," said Matsumoto.

"Yeah. Damn, that stadium is just enough to draw those hollows near those impoverished villages. If it weren't for the stadium, then there would be no reason for the hollows to venture towards those villages. Matsumoto, let's go. We've got to go stop that exhibition before things get out of hand."

"Right."

"Follow me. You, that just reported to me. Tell everyone to stand by and await further instruction."

"Yes, sir."

"Matsumoto, let's go."

"Right behind you."

By the time Hitsugaya and Matsumoto got to the stadium, the exhibition was well under way.

"Taichou, are we too late?" breathed Matsumoto, standing at the top of the bleachers.

"Well, we can't do much now. There's no evidence of hollows trying to break the seal and if we halt this exhibition we may cause more panic and chaos than necessary. Let's try to blend in and—"

"Hey you two up there!" shouted a man, running up to them. "Goddamn shinigami always trying to shut me down," he mumbled. "Where did you come from? Do you have tickets? Look, I don't know how you got in—"

"Are you the person in charge of this exhibition?" Hitsugaya asked, one eyebrow raised at the greasy looking mustached man that was scrambling up the stairs towards them.

"What if I am? Whatcha gonna do about it, punk?" he sneered.

"That's no way to speak—"

"Matsumoto!" he interrupted.

"Frickin' kids these days. Can't even keep your girlfriend in line. Hey, cutie," he said, turning to face Matsumoto. "How's about you ditch the prepubescent punk and—"

"No, thank you," she said slowly and politely, knowing full well she had been warned not to blow their cover.

"What? What's a cutie like you doin' with a punk like him? A rack like that is just going to waste on a—"

Then in the blink of an eye, the elbow of the 10-bantai taichou connected with the coordinator's nose.

Hitsugaya grabbed him by the collar and stared piercingly with his cold emerald eyes.

"Now you listen and you listen good because I'm only going to say this once. There is a bunch of powerful hungry hollows roaming this area. Generally, exhibitions of zanpakutou are like waving a bloody piece of meat in front of a pack of velociraptors. You cringe, but that's the reality. We originally came to shut down the exhibition because it was too dangerous, but since the exhibition appears to only be amateurs and there are quite a lot of people gathered here today, we decided that the best course of action is to observe and not do anything foolish or spontaneous as to raise unnecessary panic and chaos."

"W-W-Who sent you?" he said nervously.

"You've probably already noticed that we're shinigami. We're from 10-bantai, here to investigate the hollow issue and protect the nearby villages from attack if necessary. Now, I was going to wait until I had more information on the hollows, but your exhibition puts several thousand souls at risk. We can't have hollows running rampant, even in the most impoverished and deserted areas of the Soul Society. We didn't come here to watch your exhibition for entertainment; we came fearing that we would have to do damage control. Don't make any sudden moves or arise panic because that might draw the attention to us. Pretend like nothing is wrong and go back to your seat."

"But doesn't your presence attract the hollows?"

"No. We're suppressing our reiatsu so that it blends in with that of the crowd. Now go back to your seat before I shut you down for not having a permit for your exhibition. And if you ever make another inappropriate, derogatory comment to Matsumoto, I promise that she and I will pound you into the ground."

"I got it. Just let me go and I'll go back to my seat."

Hitsugaya lowered the sniveling coordinator to the ground.

"We'll be watching, so don't try anything funny. Let's go, Matsumoto," he said starting to turn around.

"Yes, taichou."

"T-t-taic-c-chou?! Did you just address him as 'taichou'?!" he gasped incredulously.

"10-bantai taichou, Hitsugaya Toushirou," he said quietly, turning around, his white haori flaring as he used his shunpo.

"Which must mean…." he said turning to Matsumoto, who was about to take off after him.

"10-bantai fukutaichou, Matsumoto Rangiku," she said, flipping some of the loose strands of hair that had gotten caught in the collar of her uniform out and patting her uniform to get the dust out, before chasing after her taichou with her shunpo.

The two top-ranking members of 10-bantai sat in the audience for several hours watching displays of zanpakutou and duels to showcase the abilities of those zanpakutou, moving every so often so as to not arouse to much suspicion as they critiqued the exhibition out of boredom.

"Well, now that's a nice zanpakutou," Matsumoto commented. "It makes music!"

"I don't know about the practicality of it though," Hitsugaya muttered. "We've been sitting here for hours and seen zanpakutou that can do just about anything. If someone had told me that there were show-zanpakutou, I never would have believed them. But now I wouldn't be surprised if there were a zanpakutou that did something stupid like make alcohol."

"Kyouraku-taichou would love that. How delightful, this zanpakutou can do different instruments…"

"…wait, unless…maybe it has some sort of hypnotic effect—"

"Nope, he just lost," Matsumoto said cheerfully as Hitsugaya face faulted. "Taichou, I think you think too much about—hey, what's going on over there?" Matsumoto pointed to the next pair of duelists who were clearly having an argument.

They both started to raise their reiatsu and call out their zanpakutou. Hitsugaya stood up to get a better look. Then one reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small crystal, smashing it in front of the entire audience.

"Taichou, that's not what I think it is, is it?" Matsumoto asked, wide eyed.

"Holy shit, he just smashed a device that's made to draw hollows here!" shouted Hitsugaya, dashing towards the center of the arena. "Matsumoto, go!"

"Right!" she called, dashing in the other direction.

"Hah! Now all the hollows will be drawn here and we will see whose zanpakutou—"

"Are you fucking crazy?!" shouted Hitsugaya, grabbing one of the exhibitionists by the collar, ignoring the overbearing silence on the part of the crowds. "Why the hell did you go and do…oh shit…"

Hitsugaya jumped back, shoving aside one into the other, as a bunch of hollows began falling from the sky and jumping into the middle of the stadium.

"Hey, don't interfere!" shouted one.

"Do you even realize what you've done?!" shouted Hitsugaya.

"Oh, no you don't. You're just here to steal the glory away from us. Well, you've got another thing coming. Haa-------------h!"

One of the duelists began powering up for an attack and the other started attacking the hollows full on.

"Shit…" Hitsugaya mumbled, looking around. "From the looks of it, thirteen, sixteen, twenty-five. So it wasn't that strong. It must be area sensitive, so it only attracts hollows within a certain radius. But these don't look like they're going to be easy to defeat—Look out!"

Hitsugaya dashed in, drawing his zanpakutou from its sheath and blocking what would have been a near fatal blow for the amateur.

By this time, the stadium was in a state of panic with everyone trying to escape what they believed to be certain death at the hands of the hollows. Hitsugaya could hear the swish of Haineko as it sliced through the walls of the stadium, creating exits for the audience to escape. Relieved that Matsumoto was directing the evacuation, he turned to the boy he just saved.

"These are no normal hollows—"

Hitsugaya was interrupted by the screams of the other amateur who had been powering up. Hitsugaya stared in disbelief as he saw the other boy's reiatsu go out of control, engulfing the poor soul as if he were being set on fire. The hollows began to surge towards the boy, so the prodigy rushed to his side.

"_Souten ni zase_! Hyourinmaru!" The icy dragon materialized, heeding his master's words and freezing everything into a frozen prison, shattering the weakest hollows upon contact.

Hitsugaya ran to the boy's side, took his zanpakutou and tried to divert some of the out of control reiatsu. He succeeded in smashing most of the remaining prisons with that reiatsu and the boy stopped thrashing. Sighing in relief, he turned to the first boy.

"You, come get your friend or rival or whatever and get the hell out of here! These aren't normal hollows so the ice isn't going to hold forever. Stop standing there staring at me! Come get him and run!"

The two boys managed to scramble out of the stadium along with all the other people and Matsumoto returned, destroying Hitsugaya's frozen world by unleashing the power of Haineko on the remaining frozen hollows.

"_Unare_, Haineko!" she shouted, releasing the speedy ashes from their hilt. "Taichou, are you all right?"

"Matsumoto, were you able to evacuate everyone?" he asked, panting as he leaned on his zanpakutou for support.

"Yes, they are all making their way towards the nearest village. What happened to you?"

"Tried to divert an out of control reiatsu."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, it just hit me a lot harder than I expected. Hopefully those two can make it to the village and get some medical attention."

"What a troublesome afternoon it's become," sighed Matsumoto, holding out the hilt to her zanpakutou so that the ashes could return to its sealed form. "I just wanna go drinking with Renji and Kira already…"

Hitsugaya coughed and was rewarded with splatters of blood soaking into the parched ground.

"Taichou—"

"Just fine—"

"Are you—Ack!" Matsumoto turned to him for a brief second and was suddenly knocked to the side by an invisible force, stirring up a cloud of ice, rubble and dust, making it difficult for the child prodigy to get his bearings.

"Matsumoto!" he called, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. The voluptuous fukutaichou lay to the side, Haineko cast away far from her on the other side of the stadium.

"Little boy, little boy, come out, come out wherever you are," bellowed a cold voice.

"Who's there?" demanded Hitsugaya.

"That depends who's asking, heh-heh," he cackled.

"Another wise ass…show yourself!"

"I'm the one calling the shots because I've got your precious friend," he said, his silhouette barely visible, yet there appeared to be something holding the barely conscious form of his fukutaichou up. "You may have gotten the other hollows with your surprise ice attack, but you're no match for me. I've beaten countless shinigami, all of whose souls were scrumptious—"

"Don't tell me you're the one who's been—"

"So what if I am. What are you gonna do about it? You don't even know what I look like!" The hollow then squeezes Matsumoto's limp body causing her to cry out in pain.

"Quit it!" shouted Hitsugaya.

"No way," retorted the hollow, throwing her body around like a rag doll around the stadium. "I like to play with my food a bit—"

"Let me ask you one thing. Were you the one who has been terrorizing this area?"

"Terrorizing? Hmm…that's what that shinigami group said…"

"So it was you."

"Friends of yours?" he taunted. "They were so weak even though there were so many of them. I took out both groups. They ran away so scared, they left some of their comrades behind—"

"What did you do to their minds? You fucked with their heads didn't you?"

"If you defeat me, I'll tell you all the dirty details, little boy," he shouted, slamming Matsumoto into the ground. "Take your best shot," he taunted.

"Taichou," gasped Matsumoto. "Don't worry about me, go—"

"Don't give me that crap, Matsumoto! This guy took a cheap shot at you and is hiding behind you. He killed all those members of our bantai. There's no way I'm letting him get away. Sorry for my selfishness, but _BANKAI! Dai Guren Hyourinmaru!_"

There was a white circle of reiatsu that flowed outward before the surge of power that accompanied the ice dragon as it created the wings on the shoulders of its master and rested on the side that wielded the blade. The lavender flower-like crystals appeared above his head.

"Catch me if you can!" taunted the hollow, holding Matsumoto by the waist like King Kong and running about the destroyed arena.

"_Only two…_" thought Matsumoto, fading in and out of consciousness, as she stared at the quivering power crystals.

"Damn, too fast to get a clear shot," mumbled Hitsugaya as he struggled to find an opening to attack the hollow without hurting Matsumoto. "Well, let's make it harder for him to move about then."

Hitsugaya leaped into the air and commanded his ice dragon to attack the hollow.

"_He's going easy on the hollow because he's afraid he's gonna hit me_," thought Matsumoto, opening one eye slightly, wincing in pain.

"What's the matter? Bad aim?" the hollow taunted as more and more ice fell from the sky. It was almost as if Hitsugaya was purposely missing the shots.

"Taichou! Just hit him with all you've got. Don't worry about me!" Matsumoto gasped, as she was thrashed around by the sudden movements of the hollow.

Then one of the crystals above Hitsugaya's shoulder shattered.

"_Shit, I hope I have enough power to do this…He's fast, but hopefully the pillars of ice will make it too hard for him to move…_" prayed Hitsugaya. "This is gonna take all I've got. Get ready!"

Hitsugaya sped down from the sky with his massive ice dragon leading the way as it crashed head on into the hollow. The hollow tried to side step it and was able to slash into Hitsugaya's shoulder; however the ice dragon was not so easily deterred and returned to slam into the hollow.

"_Did I lose?_" thought Hitsugaya as the last of his power expired, his bankai disappeared and he fell to the ground, eyes glassy.

"That mind trick unfortunately was not me. That was Gouka, who manipulated the thoughts and memories of his victims. The problem with Gouka was that he was really weak, so he relied on the power of hollows like me. He wasn't able to defend against that surprise blizzard you threw at us earlier. Probably the confusion and effects of the memory numbers he did on those shinigami that survived should be gone. You can ask the survivors all the questions you want now…." The hollow then disappeared having been defeated.

"That's good," whispered Hitsugaya as he lost consciousness.

"Taichou!" breathed Matsumoto, who finally released from her captor, crawled to get her zanpakutou. Picking herself up, she makes her way over to her unconscious taichou and smiled slightly.

"Always overdoing it," she whispered, picking him up and using her remaining power to use shunpo to get them to the nearest village. Knocking on the nearest house, she is greeted by a terrified little girl, whom she recognized as one of the people at the stadium.

"Are the hollows gone?" she asked quivering behind the door in the darkness.

"Yes," smiled Matsumoto. "Please, can you get someone to treat him? He's bleeding. My taichou, he's very—" Matsumoto started as she too succumbed to exhaustion and collapsed in front of the tiny shack on the edge of the village.

Hitsugaya woke up on a bed with bandages all over his body. He sat up tried to figure out where he was, but with little success.

"What happened?" he murmured, as he looked out the window. "It's evening. Where am I? Matsumoto!" he exclaimed, the hollow fiasco memories crashing down on him.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, glad you made it through the night," said Unohana, pulling back the curtain and entering his room.

"Unohana-taichou. Thank you. I apologize for—" he was cut off by a simple raise of her hand, the palm facing him.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, I have been informed about your situation—"

"Where's Matsumoto?" he interrupted.

"In the bed next to yours," she said quietly, pulling back another curtain to reveal the sleeping form of his well-endowed fukutaichou. "Matsumoto-fukutaichou, suffered a great deal of internal injuries, so we have her hooked up to a lot of machines until she has completely recovered."

"Has she regained consciousness yet?"

"No."

"How long have we been here?"

"Two days?"

"Two days…I better go then—"

"Hitsugaya-taichou. You have been unconscious for two days, you have a huge wound on your shoulder, I must recommend that you rest at least a few more days—"

"I've got something I need to take care of. Please, Unohana-taichou. I'll be back tomorrow. I just need to take care of something tonight. Discharge me temporarily and I give my word that I'll be back tomorrow."

"Very well, I will discharge you for 24 hours. We still need to run some tests on you and—"

"Thanks. I'll be back. I'm sorry. There's just something I need to. Anyway, let me know if Matsumoto regains consciousness. Don't let her check herself out. Force her to stay a couple of days at least to rest and heal. Thanks."

Hitsugaya rushed out of the 4-bantai headquarters, bandages and all, after having dressed back into his uniform, which they had been kind enough to wash and press for him. His shoulder was still fairly tender, but he ignored it or at least did his best to try to ignore the pain. After buying a bouquet of roses for Hinamori, he used his shunpo to rush to her apartment and apologize and take her out to dinner as planned.

When he arrived at Hinamori's apartment, he saw the door ajar. Fearing the worst, he ran to the door, burst in and saw two silhouettes in the dim light.

"_That's odd, why are all the lights off?_" he thought, as he reached for the light switch. Flicking it on, he turned the spotlight onto Hinamori lip-locked with Kira.

"Oh, Shiro-chan!" she gasped, turning bright red.

Hitsugaya stood in the middle of the hallway, speechless, like a deer caught in the headlights, his bandaged hand clutching the bouquet of roses.

"Shiro-chan, this isn't what it looks like—"

Hitsugaya, too shocked at the development of the situation, takes a step backwards in an attempt to put some space between them, but fails miserably and ends up backing into the table. He looked from Hinamori to Kira and then from Kira to Hinamori.

Hinamori seeing the hurt in Hitsugaya's eyes, rushed over to try and smooth things over, putting her hand on his shoulder. He winced in pain, and drew back abruptly too shocked for words. The emerald eyed taichou turned around, threw the bouquet down with his bandaged up hand, petals scattering violently everywhere, before using his shunpo to disappear.

"Shiro-chan," Hinamori whispered guiltily, looking down at her palms, only to find blood staining her hand slightly.

_To be continued…._

_Cue ending theme..._

_Kon: Whoa! What the hell, everyone?! Did you just see that?! Hinamori-chan and Kira-kun!! I know you're all wondering where the great Bleach mascot has been. Anyway, I'm here in this little preview of Chapter 7...(Kon making smooching noises in front of the mirror) Hina and Kira, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S--OUCH! Who the hell was that?!_

_Ichigo: (smashing his foot into Kon) Who the hell are you talking to?!_

_Kon: Ichigo! Haven't you heard? It's the latest installment of "Chrysanthemums & Peaches!"_

_Ichigo: What?!_

_Orihime: (popping out from nowhere) Kurosaki-kun, it's the love triangle between Hitsugaya-taichou, Matsumoto-fukutaichou, and Hinamori-fukutaichou! We just found out that Hinamori-fukutaichou has been cheating on Hitsugaya-taichou--_

_Uryuu: Right after accusing him of cheating on her!!_

_Rukia: (clutching her blouse in the spotlight with one hand extended) And Matsumoto-fukutaichou is unconscious with severe injuries. Who will heal the poor taichou's broken heart?!_

_Ichigo: Rukia, not you too?!_

_Keigo: Ichigo, you're so behind--_

_Yumichika: Kurosaki-kun, I hear Hitsugaya-taichou is pretty upset over this. He went straight back to the recovery room to be sedated and requested that only 10-bantai visitors be allowed to enter._

_Kon: Anyway, back to me! Looks like things are over between Hitsugaya and Hinamori! Go MATSUMOTO!! Wake up and capture your taichou's heart before he forgives her! Stay tuned everyone! Here comes the storm and it's about to get exciting._


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: KTNM

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter 7**

"Good morning, Hitsugaya-taichou," a cheery voice said, sliding open the door that led to the private room of the 10-bantai taichou. "How are you feeling this morning?"

A friendly young female shinigami holding a clipboard and several packets of powder skipped into his room. Hitsugaya opened his eyes slowly and tried to sit up. Wincing as he stupidly pushed his weight onto his shoulder nearest to the wall, his eyes widened as he nearly cried out at the sharp pain that coursed through the right side of his body and shot down to his fingertips.

"What the—" he said looking at his hand that had been bandaged and put into a sling.

"Looks like that shoulder's still quite tender, huh?" she said, placing her clipboard and the powder onto the table next to him. Raising the bed at an angle, she helped him position him comfortably onto the pillows.

"Where am I?" Hitsugaya asked quietly.

"Your condition has pretty much stabilized, so we moved you to a private room for recovery. Your bantai has been quite worried about you. They wanted to come and see if you were alright."

"What did you tell them?"

"Well, Unohana-taichou told everyone to tell your bantai that until you regain consciousness, we cannot allow anyone into the rooms of patients in a critical condition."

"I see..."

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, memory's a little fuzzy though. Would you mind telling me..."

"Certainly. You were brought here 6 days ago after an anonymous person from the eastern Rukongai area called for help. We brought you back here to the 4-bantai headquarters, where we tried to stabilize your condition. You were for the most part unconscious for 2 nights, on the third day, we processed your discharge request per Unohana-taichou on the basis that it only be for 24 hours. Less than 3 hours later, one of the members of 4-bantai discovered you had collapsed outside of the gates of the headquarters. According to the shinigami that found you, it looked like you were on your way back to the recovery unit, as you had collapsed face down towards the gate."

"What happened to my hand?" he asked trying to turn the appendage and wincing as the slightest movement caused him searing pain that he could swear he went blind for several seconds.

"We were hoping you could tell us that…You see, your hand was bleeding when we found you. Some of the bones were broken and there were a few small fractures that we managed to heal, however, as you can probably tell, it's still quite tender like your shoulder. As you know, we can only heal so much before we are forced to let the body take its natural course in healing itself."

"Oh…" Hitsugaya stared up at the ceiling, trying to remember the events that transpired after storming out of Hinamori's apartment that night. His memory was rather fragmented as all he could remember was storming out of Hinamori's apartment covered in rose petals, punching a wall, which explained the bandaged hand, and somehow feeling dizzy after that, which prompted the decision to return to the 4-bantai headquarters.

"Well, I don't remember much, just punching a wall and feeling dizzy after that. After that, I'm kind of drawing a blank," he said quietly.

"Well, in any case, it's a good thing you somehow made it back here despite the dizziness."

"How long have I been here since then?" he asked, staring at the IV tube that had been stabbed into his arm.

"About 3 days. We treated your hand and shoulder a bit more and your vital signs were irregular the first night, so we had you under careful observation until the afternoon of the second, so when they stabilized and we were able to move you to this private room. During which time, members of your bantai have dropped by to see how you have been doing. We had to turn down their requests to see you, but now that you are awake and there seems to be no problem, I can tell--"

"Wait. How long more will I have to stay here?"

"Well, Unohana-taichou said you should take some time off to recover."

"How long?"

"She said about 10 to 14 days, since your shoulder will be tender for at least another week, she said to keep the movement to a minimum and within two weeks it should be more or less healed. The joints in your hand will also be about a week. No training or strenuous activity with that shoulder for at least a month though. She has informed the 3-seki of 10-bantai to return from the Material World to take charge of pressing matters as you recover."

"What about Matsumoto?"

"I humbly apologize for not being able to do much for her, but Matsumoto-fukutaichou suffered tremendous total body injuries, several broken bones, internal bleeding, and tremendous blood loss. There does not appear to be hemorrhaging to the brain, however, we cannot say that there has been no trauma to her head at this time. She has yet to regain consciousness and is currently under constant surveillance."

"I see. What are the chances of her regaining consciousness?"

"Typically, it decreases the longer she stays unconscious."

Hitsugaya's face fell as he stared into his sheets.

"Well, the good news is that her body appears to be healing, slowly. Very slowly. But healing nonetheless, most likely due to the fact that she is a fukutaichou. Most lower-level shinigami that have taken that kind of damage die, usually with their bodies rejecting any and all treatment if they can survive long enough to get it. However, Matsumoto-fukutaichou is tough and is recovering, if only marginally. She should regain consciousness within the next week, at least that's what we're hoping, given the circumstances."

"I see…"

"Well, I think you should rest a bit more. This here is your painkiller, this one's the antibiotic, this yellow powder is the supplement, this one's for your joints, and this purplish-gray one here for your shoulder," she said emptying the packets into a glass and pouring the cool water that had been set in a pitcher next to him over the multi-colored dust. Stirring the concoction lightly with a straw, she pushed the glass towards him with one hand while stuffing the sleeves the medication came in into one of her pockets.

Hitsugaya made a face and pales slightly as he stared at the straw spinning involuntarily as it swirled the particles of powder downward like a mini whirlpool of confetti. The shinigami looked at the taichou expectantly and was mildly surprised to find the taichou almost acting like a kid that did not want to drink his cod liver oil.

"Is something wrong, Hitsugaya-taichou?"

"I—" he started, a pained expression on his face as he reached for the cup with his non-dominant hand. Forcing his hand to accept the small clear plastic cup, he grasped it firmly before looking away from the slowly settling confetti. Turning back to face the horrid liquid, he took several deep breaths before downing the entire thing, swallowing the bitter grainy liquid, and setting the cup onto the tray in one fluid motion, before nearly gagging in front of the 4-bantai shinigami who stared at him in confusion and amazement.

"_If I didn't know any better, you'd think he was shooting alcohol_," she thought, gazing at the taichou that had suddenly gone about five shades paler. "Is something a matter, Hitsugaya-taichou?"

"Yeah," he managed to choke out. "I feel kinda queasy; could you go bring me some tea?"

"Sure…I'll have Oshima-san bring you some," she said slowly, as she scampered off, not knowing whether to hurry and get the tea or just laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Never in her wildest dreams would she have guessed that the cool 10-bantai prodigy hated taking medicine almost as much as a child.

0-0-0-0-0

For the rest of the week, Hitsugaya found himself with huge pockets of time with which he had nothing to do, but think. He had tried to write a letter on the first day with minimal success due to the ultra-sensitivity he was experiencing on his whole right side, which led him to just sitting it through while he regained his strength and allowed his body to heal. These pockets of time provided the super rare genius with opportunities to just ponder his life and relationships for hours and hours.

He tried to think of what he could possibly say to his buxom fukutaichou when she regained consciousness, but felt himself bogged down by an overwhelming sense of guilt for endangering her life that he could not shake off, which he attributed to the trauma of seeing his fukutaichou attacked and beaten up in front of his very eyes and for the most part being unable to protect her because of the stress his body had been suffering under for quite some time. And for the first time, he was feeling unsure of himself and experiencing a slump in his self-confidence at his short-comings. He did not know what to say or how to even begin to talk to Matsumoto again, if she ever regained consciousness.

In addition to the guilt and uncertainty, he also had mixed feelings when it came to the situation that concerned Hinamori's infidelity with Kira. A part of him was glad to have been relieved of the duty, but at the same time, he still felt hurt and angry, and at times bitter, with what she had done. Forcing himself into isolation by limiting his contact with others while he lay in that room in the recovery ward, in an attempt to cope with these conflicting emotions, and burdened by the fact that he was unaccustomed to dealing with so many emotions at the same time, _and _unable to bury himself in his paperwork, Hitsugaya found himself very irritable and grouchy as he also worried himself sick thinking about the amount of paperwork that was surely piling up on his desk. So by the tenth day or so, tensions were high, Hitsugaya was frustrated, irritated, and in need for some fresh air to escape the sense of cabin fever he was experiencing, and all hell was ready to break loose.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, where are you going?" asked Oshima, the shinigami who had been charged with taking care of the young taichou during his recovery, as she saw the white haired taichou pass her in the hallway.

"Out," he mumbled, ignoring the stares he was getting, as the clingy shinigami ran after him.

"Oh no, Hitsugaya-taichou," she cried. "You mustn't. I was given strict orders to have you rest and—Where do you think you're going?"

"Sorry, I need some fresh air—"

"You can get that in your room. Here, let me open a window for—Hitsugaya-taichou!"

"I'm bored and my body has healed—"

"Would you like me to bring you a puzzle or something—"

"I'm not a kid, you know—"

"How about a cookie or something—"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that last one. Anyway, I'm fine. My shoulder is better. My wrist is better. Forgive me for being rude, but I'm going to go out for some fresh air. Have Sakasegawa bring some paperwork here."

"But—"

"I'll be back later," he said, shifting his shoulder and turning his wrist to stimulate circulation to the stiff joints as he walked out of the 4-bantai headquarters, his haori flapping behind him.

"As you wish," Oshima sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Please be careful. My sempai is going to kill me for this…."

Hitsugaya turned the corner and began to walk in the direction of his favorite park, but then changed his mind at the last second, deciding that maybe a shorter walk would be in his best interest after having been cooped up for so long. He decided he would take a short leisurely walk around the 4-bantai complex, despite the protests of the 4-bantai members, before going to see Matsumoto, who at this time was still unconscious. He knew there was nothing more he or anyone else could do, but he still felt it to be his duty to visit her everyday, sitting in the chair next to her bed, the sun striking his back as it slowly set every evening. By which time, he would retire to his room and think some more.

Hitsugaya gazed at the carefully tended to garden that surrounded the headquarters of the 4-bantai taichou, silently observing the great effort that went into trimming the shrubbery and pruning the flowers and the seemingly perfect way the vines crawled up the walls without so much running into each other or making the complex look too busy or overgrown. Somehow feeling relaxed by all of this, Hitsugaya continued to walk and enjoy the quiet afternoon that had set upon the Seireitei.

Just as he was nearing the last strip of 'wall lined with garden' as he so creatively named it in his head, he noticed a peculiar sight. The shrubs had been pruned into little balls and the flowers had been planted not in natural looking groups and bunches, but had been carefully planted exactly the same distance from each other, which looked to be in rows around six inches apart. What puzzled the perceptive taichou on his walk was why only one side had been planted so unnaturally. The answer to his question came soon enough.

"What the fuck happened here?!" roared someone ahead. Hitsugaya continued to walk cautiously towards the shout. "You, what the hell?!"

"I'm s-s-s-s-sorry, sempai!" whimpered a groveling shinigami.

"What's your name?"

"Y-Y-Ya-Yamada H-H-H-Hanatarou, s-s-s-sempai!"

"Boy, tell me why you trimmed these bushes round like balls?!"

"Well, you told me to shape them and you didn't specify, so I just assumed—"

"You assumed?! The shrubbery is round and you've planted the flowers like how farmers plant rice in those wet paddies! Where are you from, a rice-growing family or something?!"

"Yes, sempai. The village I grew up in was known for its rice and—"

"So you thought you might plant the flowers out here evenly and sparsely—"

"Well—we've never had a garden before, since my father told us land is too valuable for flowers and well…"

"Have you ever seen trees or flowers grow in a row?"

"Well, no…but…"

"Have you ever seen symmetry in nature—"

"Well, now that you mention it, I guess not, sempai."

"Well, then what made you think that trimming shrubs into balls and planting flowers at equal distances from each other would be natural looking?!"

"You see, I um..."

"Geez, just go get more flowers so you can fill out the ground already—"

"What about the shrubs, sempai?"

"Over-pruning shrubs is like putting too much salt in a soup. There isn't much you can do to correct it if you over do it. Since you already trimmed it into balls like one of those Material World like beasts on collars—"

"You mean poodles?"

"Since when did you become so cheeky, boy? Ever since they dispatched you to the Material World and started hanging around that gaudy Shiba Clan boy--"

"I apologize for my insolence, sempai."

"Well, never mind. Just go get some more flowers, so we can try and fill these bald spots here."

"Yes, sempai," Hanatarou squeaked as he scampered off in the direction of the horticulture shop.

"Fuckin' kid that can't do anything right," the shinigami muttered to himself as he turned around in disgust and nearly ran into Hitsugaya. "Hey, watch—oh, it's you, Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Excuse me, I was just taking a walk," Hitsugaya said, raising one eyebrow curiously, as he sidestepped the shinigami that looked to be double his size.

"I apologize for the unaesthetic appearance of this side of our headquarters," he said bowing deeply.

"No, no, as you were," Hitsugaya said, continuing on his walk. He was nearly at the end of his refreshing walk when he turned the corner and was hit full force by a rapidly moving figure, causing whatever hit him to bounce back in the same direction it came from and him to teeter backwards with his hands flapping wildly before landing unceremoniously on his non-existent rear end. Groaning as he attempted to stand up, the other figure quickly got up and rushed to him.

"Are you allright--" she started before getting a good look at who she had hit. "Shiro-chan."

"Hinamori," he said meeting her eyes, before hardening his gaze slightly.

"Uh….um….Let me help you up," she said offering her hand to the tottering Hitsugaya, whose balance was less than stellar from lack of movement over the past week.

"That's okay," he mumbled, turning away from her and kneeling to steady himself as he stood up. Hitsugaya dusted himself off briskly and was starting to walk past Hinamori when she reached out a grabbed his sleeve.

"Shiro-chan," she whispered, tugging desperately at his sleeve.

"I'm fine, let me go," he said coldly.

"Shiro-chan, I've missed you."

"If you'll excuse me," he said, walking towards the large main gate.

"Shiro-chan, wait," she pleaded.

"What?" he said halting in front of the gate.

"I, um, do you think we can talk?"

"I don't think so, Hinamori."

"Just a few minutes--"

"I have nothing to say to you," he said, voice devoid of all emotion. "And I'd prefer that we not discuss this and we go our separate ways."

"But, Shiro-chan. Don't you think--"

"I think that you need to leave. I'm going back inside."

"Shiro-chan, please? Pleeeeeaaaaassse? I wanted to say something to you. Just a few minutes?"

"All right, five minutes," he said turning around, leaning in against the open gate, arms crossed.

"Do we have to talk here?"

"There's no one here."

"I know, but..."

"Look, I'm going already--" he said turning towards the 4-bantai building.

"Shiro-chan, wait, okay, okay. Why are you being like this?"

"Can you blame me? You were--Look, never mind. I'm not going to go into this. If you have something to say, then say it and be done with it."

"Why are you being so cold?"

"Hinamori--"

"Shiro-chan, about that night--"

"If it's about that night, I don't wanna hear it. Your actions spoke loud and clear when your words failed you. You don't have to justify your actions. Let's just call it quits and go our separate ways already."

"Shiro-chan, it wasn't what it looked like. Let me explain--"

"Hinamori, 'it wasn't what it looked like'?! What the hell is that?! It was _exactly_ what it looked like. I'm no fool, Hinamori. You were kissing Kira and that's all there is to it. You wanted out of this relationship, well now you have it."

"Shiro-chan, what is that supposed to mean?!"

"You say you love me one minute and the next minute you're two-timing me with Kira!"

"I was not!"

"You mean to tell me that that night was only a one time deal?! Don't make me laugh, Hinamori!"

"Shiro-chan, why are you being so mean?!"

"Don't you think what you _did_ to me was a lot meaner than anything I could have said to you?"

"That's not the point--"

"Well, then what is? I mean, you were cheating behind my back with Kira! If that's not infidelity and the worst kind of betrayal, then I don't know what is."

"But, Shiro-chan, it's just that I was so lonely and you never came home or spent time with me—"

"And I told you where I was. I told you that Matsumoto and I were working late because of the Eastern Rukongai problem."

"Well, how can I be sure that you two weren't doing something together?"

"Don't you think that if I were cheating on you, that I would be a little bit smarter than doing something at the office, where there are other high-ranking shinigami working late at night and Kyouraku-taichou sometimes bursting in on us at two in the morning looking for Ukitake-taichou in the office next to mine and Ise-fukutaichou chasing after him trying to get her hair pin back from him?"

"Well, it's not like you don't have urges, desires, and needs too."

"Yes, but the difference is that I don't act on it. I've had to deal with Matsumoto's flirtatious behavior, nothing outside of what you know her to be capable of doing, there is a woman in 4-bantai that keeps sending me stuffed animals and cookies because I remind her of her son and at the same time tries to set me up with her daughter who is also serving under 4-bantai and is worse than Yamada Hanatarou, Kyouraku-taichou once mistook me for Ukitake-taichou and tried to kiss and molest me, and there's a group of 'girls' that that flood my mailbox every once in a while with love letters and confessions, a group that I suspect is half made up of gay transvestites, but I have never cheated on you. I don't know who or what you've been doing behind my back, but saying you love me, want to get married, and spend the rest of our lives together one minute, and then going around pulling this kind of shit, is just too much inconsistency for me to deal with. I already have enough complications with dealing with my bantai, I don't need you to go and complicate it further for the sake of a selfish crush."

"I'm sorry, Shiro-chan, I didn't mean to—"

"You didn't mean to what? You didn't mean to tell me that you cared or that you didn't mean to cheat on me?"

"Can you ever forgive me?"

"Forgive you?!"

"Can't we just start over fresh? I'm sorry I hurt you, Shiro-chan."

"No, I'm done. It's over. You wanna be with Kira, I won't stop you. He clearly fills the void you feel in your heart. Be happy with him. I think your five minutes are up already."

Hitsugaya stood up straight and turned away once again to leave.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, there you are," said Oshima, running out to the icy taichou. "We've been looking all over for you. We were wondering if something happened to you. Anyway, there's been a change in Matsumoto-fukutaichou's condition. I think you better come with me."

"All right," Hitsugaya said following the petite shinigami.

"Shiro-chan, wait," Hinamori called after him.

Hitsugaya stopped once again, but did not turn around. "Hinamori, I have nothing more to say to you."

"But, Shiro-chan…"

"That's Hitsugaya-_taichou_ to you, Hinamori," he said as he entered the 4-bantai headquarters, leaving the young fukutaichou speechless in the middle of the path.

…_To Be Continued…_

Author's Note: This will hopefully be the last chapter in which Hinamori appears with a major role. I was going to write Matsumoto in this chapter, but I decided to take care of the loose ends concerning Hinamori first. So yeah, just tying up some of the loose ends here in this explanatory chapter. Next chapter guaranteed, HitsuMatsu-ness.

Chapter 8…Hitsugaya must deal with the change in Matsumoto's condition. How will he live with the guilt? How will he cope with the pain, the anger, and the bitterness of his breakup with Hinamori? What about Matsumoto? How does she feel about our not so little taichou? Does she share the same feelings or does she harbor feelings for someone else? Can these two opposites ultimately overcome their painful pasts? Some of these questions examined and answered in the next chapter of _Chrysanthemums & Peaches_.


	8. Chapter 7 and a half Matsumoto Mini

**Disclaimer**: KTNM

**Author's Note**: A mini update focusing on Matsumoto and then moving towards the fluffy HitsuMatsu-ness. Enjoy.

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches – Chapter 7.5**

_A tall female shinigami stood in front of two oak doors. Her long strawberry blonde locks cascaded gently down her back, swaying slightly as she pushed the double doors._

"_You called for me, Yamamoto-soutaichou?" she asked, bowing deeply to the bald bearded taichou leaning heavily on his cane as the wrinkles and folds on his face slowly allowed him to squint beadily at the young voluptuous shinigami in front of him._

"_Matsumoto-fukutaichou."_

"_Yes, sir," she said meeting his gaze._

"_I would like to present to you the youngest and newest taichou, your new taichou, 10-bantai taichou, Hitsugaya Toushirou," he said gesturing to a small opening in the wall which had been curtained. No sooner had he said that when a small white-haired boy wearing the taichou haori followed the 1-bantai fukutaichou into the room. He was looking down at the floor and simply followed the gray haired fukutaichou to the massive throne that the soutaichou was sitting at. He was wearing his zanpakutou on his back and Matsumoto stared at him curiously as he merely looked at the wood flooring._

"_Matsumoto-fukutaichou, Hitsugaya-taichou," introduced the soutaichou once more, gesturing grandly to the young taichou._

"_Matsumoto Rangiku, at your service, Hitsugaya-taichou," she said, walking up to Hitsugaya who slowly looked up and found his large deep emerald eyes right in line with Matsumoto's overflowing abundant…assets. _

_Hitsugaya stared wide-eyed as he blushed slightly, looking up at the auburn haired fukutaichou, before remembering his manners. Rather flustered, he managed to choke out a low, "H-H-Hitsugaya Toushirou."_

"_Hitsugaya-taichou graduated at the top of his class and is the youngest shinigami to ever be promoted to captain. His abilities and overall knowledge alone put him in the taichou class. Matsumoto-fukutaichou, please help him get acquainted with the members, facilities, routine, and idiosyncrasies of your bantai," declared the formal soutaichou._

"_Understood," bowed Matsumoto._

"_That is all. You may be dismissed," he said, gesturing for his fukutaichou to open the door for the new 10-bantai duo._

0-0-0-0-0

_Matsumoto walked out of the kitchenette holding a small square lacquered tray with a simple, clean ceramic handle-less cup and a steaming matching teapot. Holding the tray steadily she silently cursed her foolishness in filling the ceramic vessel with too much tea, as some sloshed about, dripping out of the straight spout._

"_Well, well, if it isn't the lovely Rangiku-chan," drawled a familiar voice._

"_Gin!" she said looking up from the tray in surprise at the silver haired smiling taichou._

"_You better watch out, you're spilling all the tea out," he warned, pointing to the tea that had pooled at the base of the teapot._

"_Oh no!" she cried, straightening the tray in a vain attempt to not spill anymore, before giving up and setting the tray onto the table to the left of her that decorated the rather sparse hallway. "See what you made me do!"_

"_Don't blame your clumsiness on me," he chided, leaning in towards her and pinning her against the wall. His face was inches from hers and his sinewy arms supported his body as it hovered over the blue-eyed fukutaichou._

"_Where were you?" she whispered into his ear gently._

"_I had to go take care of business again," he replied, leaning closer, passing her lips and making his way past her jaw-line and towards her neck before sucking the flesh slightly._

"_I was alone for weeks," she grumbled._

"_Does that mean you missed me?"_

"_Not really," she said after pondering the question for several moments. "The bed was just cold in the morning and I had to wake up on my own."_

"_Now who's being cold?" he pouted. "Though I could take care of that," he whispered, his hands working down her curvaceous body._

"_Matsumoto, where's the extra log sheets—" called a familiar voice down the hall._

"_I gotta get back to work," she whispered, sliding out from under the 3-bantai taichou's body, and trying to untangle herself from his wandering hands._

"_But—"_

"_Coming, taichou!" she called, picking up the tray._

"_Cheating on me?" he said half jokingly, a single eyebrow raised in mock surprise._

"_You know it's not like that. He's just a kid"_

"_So I hear. I bet he's quite the little prodigy, isn't he? Well he must be since he managed to catch your eye."_

"_Stop," she said, flipping her hair back, only putting half the effort behind the retort._

"_How is he?"_

"_Serious, quiet, a taichou of few words, but smart. Graduated top of his class."_

"_I bet he's too mesmerized by your beauty," Ichimaru said, snaking an arm around her shoulder, playing with her delicate locks._

"_Nah, he's too innocent," she said holding the tray to the side as she slid her arm under her bust as she adjusted the open part of her uniform with the other. "He barely smiles, you know, Gin. Aren't children supposed to be a little more…I don't know….lively?"_

"_Well, child or not, you know what I want to know…" he said teasing her hair slightly._

"_He's green, but he isn't stupid. I also don't think he's interested in what you have to offer."_

"_What ever are you talking about, my dear?"_

"_Stay away from him," she warned._

"_Ooh, why so defensive—"_

"_I'm not being defensive. It's just that he's—" she said before stopping herself._

"_He's what?" asked the silver haired taichou, his left eye opening slightly in sheer curiosity._

"_Matsumoto. Are you alright?" called the voice down the hall._

"_He's mine. I saw him first," she laughed, as she slipped away. "Coming, taichou!" she called._

_Matsumoto skipped down the hall, splashing tea on the tray she was carrying, droplets spilling here and there as she left behind the fox-eyed 3-bantai taichou in the middle of the hallway._

0-0-0-0-0

_Then all faded into swirls of black and Matsumoto found herself in the middle of what appeared to be a ghost town following a little girl with short reddish hair._

"_Is anyone here?" the girl called weakly, weaving left and right in the middle of the street. "Where is everyone?" Matsumoto followed the girl as she wandered aimlessly through the town, without so much of a sign of a single soul._

_Dizziness came over her and soon the girl's vision doubled and blurred, swirling the reds and browns of the arid town into shapeless forms of copper and rust. She felt herself sink to her knees and struggled to keep plowing on. Matsumoto solemnly followed her as she watched the girl collapse at the edge of the town. Somehow she went from standing next to her body to soaring above her, watching a scrawny gray haired boy carrying dried fruit that he had been collecting approach the girl, shake her back to consciousness, offering her a small part of his loot before turning to leave._

"_Wait!" called the girl, struggling to get up and chase after her savior, but failing miserably in frustration. "Don't leave me, please! Take me with you," she called out._

"_Do you trust me?" he asked, continuing to walk away from her._

"_I guess so."_

"_Then stay here. I'll be back for you. Are you lost?"_

"_No."_

"_Where's your family?"_

"_I don't know. I don't have one, I guess."_

"_Wait here then. I'll be back," the boy said, as he walked off towards the horizon._

"_Please don't leave me," she pleaded, watching her only contact for miles get smaller and smaller as he neared the dip up ahead in the road. "Oh, please…"_

0-0-0-0-0

Hitsugaya stared at the flushed figure of Matsumoto lying in her bed. Tears were streaming down his fukutaichou's face as she appeared to be calling out to someone in her sleep.

"She suddenly started calling out for someone," Oshima said, informing the worried taichou who looked on helplessly. "We are not sure what is causing this jog in memories.

"_Please," _Matsumoto whispered.

Hitusgaya's ears perked up as he leaned in to Matsumoto's contorted face.

"_Please, don't leave. Don't leave me…" _Matsumoto was nearly mouthing these words, no sound being generated by her vocal cords.

"Matsumoto, are you alright?!" shouted Hitsugaya. "Pull yourself together! Come on. Wake up!"

"_I don't want to be alone. Please don't leave me. I don't have anywhere to go. Please…"_

Hitsugaya was ready to try and shake Matsumoto awake if it meant putting an end to her nightmare. Unfortunately, he had been warned by Oshima not to disturb the more or less unconscious fukutaichou.

"Matsumoto!" he said, leaning over her body, stressing out about his poor fukutaichou. "Can you hear me? Matsumoto, listen. I'm here right next to you. I'm not going to leave you alone. Matsumoto, it's me, Hitsugaya. Come back. Come back, Matsumoto. I'll be here waiting, so just wake up. Because without you…."

Every nerve and cell of his body was working overtime to compensate for the immense stress the young fukutaichou was under. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of his face as he hovered over her in anticipation. As soon and as abruptly that it came, Matsumoto stopped crying and whimpering as her face returned to the calm comatose expression that it had been in yesterday.

"Hitsugaya-taichou," interrupted Oshima, tapping the excited taichou gently, trying to ease the worked up taichou into the chair she had pulled up for him. "I think we better call it a night. I think she's sleeping, maybe you should—"

"Absolutely not," he said matter-of-factly. "She can't be alone. I told her I would be here for her so that she would not be alone. I'll be sleeping here on this couch in her room."

"But—"

"I don't care. Matsumoto is my fukutaichou and I'm staying here to protect her. Make the arrangements. That's an order!"

"Yes, sir."

…_To Be Continued…_


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: KTNM

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter ****８**

"Isn't he just dreamy?"

"Who?"

"Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Who?"

"You know, 10-bantai taichou, Hitsugaya Toushirou."

"Hmm. Can't say I know him."

"Well, you're new around here, so maybe you haven't seen him. I don't know where he went today, but he's usually sitting over there—"

"What does he look like?"

"Well, he and I graduated the same year. I started late, so I actually graduated quite late in my career—you know, personal issues and whatnot. Anyway, we were in the same class, same number of formal years of training on paper, but dang, there's just a huge disparity between him and me in terms of ability."

"You don't say."

"I'm more of a healer, so they put me in 4-bantai, but him…They say he's a child prodigy, having already achieved his bankai at such an early age."

"No way. But I thought that achieving your bankai requires something like ten years or something, so if he's _your_ year, then…"

"Yeah. And when we were still in training and stuff he was so adorable because he looked just like a kid, at like, I swear four feet tall with his green eyes all big and round, and still with his baby fat on his face and his spiked white hair—"

"White hair?"

"Yeah, he says that's his natural hair color—"

"He's not just an old guy pretending to be young—"

"No, though rumor has it that his hair became white as soon as he was able to call forth the shikai for his zanpakutou and someone else once speculated that his child-like appearance was a trade-off of some sort. You know, one of those 'obtaining immense power at a price' deals—the price being he was damned to the appearance of a child. But, I saw him the other day and damn, that boy is fi----ine."

"Fine?"

"No, not fine. He's not sick or something. I'm talking FAAAAA-EEEENN. If he weren't the prince of ice, I'd swear that every time we're in the same room the temperature goes up like ten degrees—"

"Or maybe you're just menopausing—"

"Oh shut up."

"Okay, now what are we doing here?"

"Oh, we're just checking the vital signs for his fukutaichou."

"_This_ is his fukutaichou?"

"Yeah, isn't she just gorgeous, even when she's practically unconscious?"

"What happened to her?"

"Got beat up real bad by a hollow."

"Is she ever gonna wake up?"

"I don't know. Her body's healing, but we still can't tell if there's been trauma to the brain. That's the real question."

"I see."

"Okay, see this here. You gotta check this every four hours. And that over there, stick that there. No, to your left. No, your other left. A little more. Some more. Okay, there. Now stick that under this over here and count to ten—"

"Wait, so what's he doing camping out in her room every night?"

"Doesn't leave her side most of the day. Just has his subordinates bring reports and paperwork every so often. Sometimes someone will come to pick the finished work up. Okay, hold this here. You know, here I was thinking that he was finally available—"

"What do you mean, '_finally _available'?"

"—nine…ten---well, for the longest time everyone thought he had a thing for the 5-bantai fukutaichou—"

"What's her name?"

"Hinamori. Hinamori Momo."

"Momo? Like as in Momoko?"

"No, just plain Momo."

"Momo-chan! How adorable—wait, so what do I do with this once I'm done?"

"—Oh, you can just throw that in that bin over there—anyway, we always thought he had something for her, but he never did anything about it. Then finally out of the blue Mari-chan tells me—"

"Who's Mari-chan?"

"Oh you know the girl we met the other day?"

"6-seki. The flaky one with the perm and the blue streaks?"

"Yeah, yeah. Her. Inoguchi Marisa. I honestly don't know how she's made it this far, but apparently she's got the dirt on everyone and she was the one that told me that they became like a couple overnight. I think she's sleeping with the soutaichou or something—"

"Eww, now that's just nasty. Wait, like boyfriend-girlfriend? –what about this?"

"Yeah. -- put that on top of that bag--"

"So how does this make him 'finally available?' Isn't he more like _unavailable_?"

"Well, according to my sources—"

"A.K.A. Mari-chan—"

"Now you're getting it. –oh, wait, give me that. I forgot to write her temp. Let me take it again—Yeah, Mari-chan told me they broke up—"

"No way!"

"Yup. You know why?"

"Why?"

"She was cheating on him—"

"Shut up—"

"He was crushed—or maybe pissed is the word. Punched a hole in a wall or the ground or something. Broke his hand—"

"Ouch!"

"Yeah, but you know what Mari-chan said? She said that Hinamori must have been cheating because Hitsugaya-taichou's a workaholic—"

"But I thought you said he's just a kid—"

"I said he _looks_ like a kid. Except recently. He's looking a lot older—"

"Maybe he just lost the baby fat—"

"That could be it, I suppose, but anyway, he may look like a kid, but he's really mature and responsible for his age. Punctual, hard-working, efficient—"

"Did she accuse him of cheating?"

"I don't know, but hell, I'd be jealous and start to wonder if my boyfriend was spending all his time at work, never coming home to me, and his fukutaichou looked like this."

"From what you tell me, he doesn't sound like the most romantic type, but at the same time, he doesn't seem like the type to fool around—"

"No, I don't think so either, but I think in her eyes, maybe his mistress was his work."

"So jealous needy girlfriend doesn't feel reassured and loved. So the attention whore that she is, she goes out and seeks the next best thing—first male friend to listen to all her problems—"

"Bingo."

"Who?"

"3-bantai fukutaichou, Kira Izuru. Same year as us, but he's probably the same age as Hinamori-fukutaichou. He's a blonde with bangs covering half his face."

"Oh, he's sweet. I was supposed to be treating his wound but I tripped and send his whole file flying into the hallway. The papers were everywhere. It was so embarrassing. But I can't believe she was cheating with him—"

"Word on the street says that she told Kira-fukutaichou that she and Hitsugaya-taichou were through—"

"I wonder why—"

"Me too. See that's what I don't under—"

"Oh my god. Sempai, I'm so sorry. I was supposed to have been at a check-in meeting five minutes ago. Can I come back and can you show me the rest later?"

"We're almost done with Matsumoto-fukutaichou. Go on to your meeting. I'll finish up here and put her file away. Come find me after you're done."

"Okay, thanks. Excuse me."

"See you….Whew, you certainly are a troublesome one, Matsumoto-fukutaichou. I think the record for the most things to check for just vital signs. Sheesh. I wonder where Hitsugaya-taichou could be today. And here I was coming here, planning to chat up a storm and cheer that gloomy taichou up—I bet he doesn't remember me though. Geez. And I so sure he was gonna be here like he always is, either staring out the window with a brush in his hand, an ink splotch in the middle of the page, the tip already dry and him lost in his thoughts; or staring at you, wondering if you're ever gonna wake up, clinging to the hope that you'll wake up from your nightmares that cause you to call out names, repeat previous conversations, and weep like no other all at the same time—I'm not bitter in any way, by the way, in case you were wondering—I've never seen a taichou so worried about his fukutaichou, nor have I ever seen so many emotions all at one time on that boy's face.

"I thought he only had one emotion, if you could even call it an emotion. I swear the Hitsugaya Toushirou that I remember only had one face—cool. Which is really why I'm surprised he doesn't have ulcers the way he looks at you mostly with guilt and sometimes forlornness and sighs when he thinks no one is looking. Not like you'll ever know because you're practically comatose. If I didn't know better, I'd say that boy had feelings for you. If that's the case, then someone like me probably has even less of a chance than Hinamori-fukutaichou with him. What am I saying?! Look at me; I'm talking to a comatose body. Sheesh. Either I really must be desperate, or I'm losing it. Let's just close the window here—there we go. Don't want those reports flying away. Turn off the light here. Oops, not the fan—this one is the…oh, here we go. You know, I just wish you'd wake up though, so he'd stop looking so pale and lost because I think that he's not so much broken up by the loss of Hinamori-fukutaichou as he is just downright depressed about you."

The door slid open and shut with a gentle waft of air that caused the bangs of the 10-bantai fukutaichou to flutter. Matsumoto stirred slightly and slowly opened one eye. Staring up at the ceiling, she struggled as her eyes tried to focus and adjust to the darkness. After several moments of confusion as she tried to get her bearings, through the magnificent power of deductive reasoning, she was finally able to determine that she must be in some sort of recovery room, most likely with in the confines of the 4-bantai headquarters. She swallowed several times in an attempt to moisten her mouth and throat before running her fingers, which she noticed were looking a little bony, through her hair, at which point, she felt a slight tug at her skin, and noticed the faintly glowing machinery and intravenous tube supplementing her existence.

"_Worried about me?! Just what kind of situation did I get myself in this time?"_ she wondered. Staring up at the corner of the ceiling, then squinting as if trying to remember something important, this confusion was followed by basic instinct. "_It's kinda hot in here. Maybe I'll go open that window she just closed."_

The request to stand up and open the window went to the right parts, but she was rewarded with tingling in her legs that bordered on pain, as her slightly atrophied muscles groaned, popping after days of inactivity.

"_Okay, maybe not. I wonder how I got here…"_

Matsumoto was racking her brain, trying to figure out what the last thing she remembered doing, when she heard a swish of the door and the muffled sound of footsteps as they quietly entered her room. Shutting her eyes quickly, she held her breath as the figure walked over to the window and set something down with a small clatter. Matsumoto, curious to know the identity of her visitor, turned her head slightly, as if she were simply stirring from a dream, towards the sound of the clatter, allowing her eyelids to open slightly, but maintained the illusion that she was sleeping. When she looked in the direction of the clatter, she was surprised to find that there was no one there, but a few wisps of smoke that disappeared as quickly as they became visible.

"Who's there?" she managed to mouth, with no luck in terms of actual sound. _"Someone just came in because I'm sure I heard the sound of that door open…This kind of stress has got to be bad for patients that are trying to recover…Why now?!"_

Fearing for her safety, as she could have sworn that someone had entered her room just moments earlier, Matsumoto's heart began to race as she frantically tried to look around the dark room for any sign of her zanpakutou with minimal movement as to not attract anymore attention. Locating her zanpakutou on the table to the left of her, she silently cursed the fact that her right-side dominated when it came to fighting. Forcing herself to calm down as she slowly reached for the bladed weapon, she knew she was at a disadvantage since she was lying down, but she managed to get a firm grip on the zanpakutou.

"_How am I gonna get it out of the sheath without being noticed?"_

Her heart pounded wildly in her ears, the blood rushing to her face. She was terrified of what might be hiding in her room, since they obviously assumed that she was still unconscious and the fact that there must be someone present while not in plain sight and she was in no condition to defend herself did not make things any easier. Looking around, she heard the sound of more clatter and sat up abruptly, ignoring the shooting pain that coursed through her entire body. Suddenly she felt herself blinded by a bright light, to which she reacted by yanking her zanpakutou from its sheath, causing it to fall to the ground with a rattle.

"Matsumoto?!"

"Taichou?" she croaked, her eyes adjusting to the bright light. The 10-bantai fukutaichou lowered her zanpakutou, dropping it on the side of the bed.

"Matsumoto?!" he breathed, almost unsure if what he was seeing were real, as he neared the bed.

"W-W-What were you—" she croaked once more.

"Are you—you're, I mean, you've regained consciousness. I should call—No, are you---Wait, do you know who I am? What's my name? Do you know who you are? What's today's date? What year were you—"

Matsumoto looked at the babbling taichou in front of her, who much to her dismay looked like he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in days. She half wanted to burst out laughing seeing her taichou in such a state of borderline confusion and the other part of her wanted to reach up, hug him, and to reassure that things were okay. She did neither. The relieved fukutaichou put a finger to her lips to get him to stop babbling. When he stopped, she pointed to something behind him.

Hitsugaya turned around, and saw that she was pointing to the steam coming from the teapot that he had momentarily set on his chair.

"Matsumoto, what?" he asked, bewildered by the cryptic message. Taking her right hand and forming a "C" with her fingers, she tried to gesture that she was drinking something and Hitsugaya, taking the hint walked over, picked up the tray that the teapot had been sitting on and poured the hot water into the teacup. Matsumoto accepted the steaming beverage appreciatively and blew on the liquid before sipping it slowly. When she had taken several sips, she cleared her throat, set the cup on her lap, and adjusted her bed so she could sit up comfortably.

"Thank you, taichou," she whispered, her vocal chords straining and her voice raw from lack of use. He nodded, as he pulled up a chair next to her bed.

"Matsumoto, I'm sorry I startled you. I guess they must have unplugged the lamp while they checked on you this afternoon," he mumbled, somewhat regaining the solemn expression that frequently plastered itself on his face, staring at his hands, almost refusing to make eye contact.

"Taichou, how long have I been here? What happened to me?"

"A-A-About a month…" he said carefully.

"What am I doing here?"

"I…I wanted to protect you. I really did. But I wasn't strong enough. Because of my stupid desire to avenge those members of our bantai—"

Matsumoto's eyes widened as those words echoed in her brain, triggering a series of flashbacks from Hinamori's outburst in his office, then rushing to the stadium in that deserted area of Eastern Rukongai, the out of control reiatsu, the hollows, the screaming as the crowd panicked and fled to the neighboring towns and villages, and then being caught herself, swung around and the chilling hollow's voice taunting her taichou mercilessly with herself as the hostage…

"Taichou, it's not your fault…if I hadn't been caught by that hollow…"

"Matsumoto, it wasn't your fault—"

"Yes, it was. If I hadn't been there—"

"If you hadn't been there, we couldn't have saved all those people in the stadium. Matsumoto, in those kinds of situations, there's no one I depend on more than you. I almost got you killed and I'm so sorry for being so selfish out there. All of this was my fault because I ordered you to come out there with me, forcing my unrealistic expectations and desires onto you. I don't know if you can ever forgive me, but I accept full responsibility for this and I know this is sudden, but I'm…I'm…just wait here."

"Taichou…" Matsumoto whispered, her clear blue eyes glassy as a lone tear slid down her cheek, dropping next to the teacup that rested on the pristine sheets. Hitsugaya stood up and shuffled over to the table next to the window. He brought back a packet pinned onto a clipboard and set it in front of the 10-bantai fukutaichou.

"Here."

"What's this?" she said, picking up the clipboard and flipping through the pages curiously. "'Request to Transfer.' I, Matsumoto Rangiku, effective immediately, am requesting a transfer out of 10-bantai, from the command of current taichou, Hitsugaya Toushirou—Taichou, what is the meaning of this?"

"I…I want you to sign this," he said, staring at the ground hunched over on the chair next to her bed, his bangs covering his eyes, gripping his hakama, his weight being supported by his fists pressing into his thighs, as he tried to maintain his composure. "I've filled it out for you, and I would like you to transfer to another bantai."

"12-bantai, 3-seki? You want me to work under Kurotsuchi-taichou?" she said, a flood of hot tears stinging her eyes as they threatened to overflow from her tear ducts.

"You won't be fukutaichou, but his 3-seki just got locked up for sexual harassment and there's an opening."

"But why—"

"Just sign it," he said, pulling her new hanko from his uniform and setting it along with the ink pad onto her lap.

"But, taichou—" she protested.

"Matsumoto," he said standing up to face the window. "Forgive me, I know I've never done this before, but as your taichou, I am ordering you to sign that."

Matsumoto opened her mouth as if to say something, but then wordlessly lifted the cover of the red inkpad, and slowly picked up the ivory stick with her last name engraved in it. As she pressed it into the pad, she looked at the back of her taichou solemnly as she pressed the seal onto the formal papers.

"Did you sign them?"

"Yes," she said, holding the clipboard in her hand. Hitsugaya turned around and reached to retrieve the form from her. "Just tell me one last thing."

"Alright."

"Don't you like me anymore?" she squeaked before taking another sip of the now lukewarm water.

"What?"

"I said, don't you like me anymore? You just ordered me to transfer out from under your command to 12-bantai, the technology and research bantai. I'm perfectly healthy, okay, maybe not perfectly, but I'm still the same person. I'm not an invalid and yet you're sending me to the bantai that almost never sees the light of day because their headquarters are underground and they spend most of their time experimenting and staring at glowing screens analyzing data?! I don't even know how to use an oven, and I can't tell the difference between sugar and salt unless I taste it. I don't know anything about technology and research. Taichou, please, if it's about paperwork or being late all the time, I swear I'll change, just don't send me away…"

"Matsumoto, this is for your own good."

"What? You mean pushing papers around and never seeing a battlefield is 'for my own good'?!" she said, her voice cracking under the strain.

"Yes! Can't you see I don't want you to get hurt ever again?!" he shouted back. "Matsumoto, I almost lost you out there. If you had died…Matsumoto, it's not that I don't like you…" Hitsugaya looked away, his face contorted with pain. "_…quite the opposite…_" he thought to himself.

"Taichou…but why…?"

"It's me…I-I can't deal with losing you…I don't know what's happening—it feels like my life is spinning out of control, like I have no order or control over what's happening. I lost all those members and had to react to the situation, killing more members, while we tried to figure out what was happening out there. Meanwhile, our regular work fell behind and we had to process all that paperwork and make all those arrangements. Then we had to deal with the hollows. I almost got you killed. You helped and supported me more than what's written in the job description of the fukutaichou—and what do I do? You almost got killed out there and it was my fault. I take full responsibility for that. Then, I had that blowup with Hinamori and I don't know what to make of my feelings now. I feel guilty, angry, and bitter all at the same time, and just when I was about to give up hope that you would ever wake up…you've thankfully suffered no trauma to your brain. Matsumoto, I swore that if you ever did wake up, that I would transfer you. Matsumoto, I just can't forgive myself for letting this happen—"

"Taichou," she said, reaching forward and embracing the 10-bantai taichou, pulling him close to her body. "The years I have served under you have been the best years of my life. No one has ever been so kind to me and treated me as well as you have all these years I have served under you. Don't worry about me; I'm a lot stronger than you think. Besides, I like protecting and saving people. I won't die so easily. It's okay…"

Hitsugaya, who was once on the verge of cracking, let down the walls that carefully guarded his heart and mind to the fukutaichou sitting beside him and allowed himself to be comforted.

"Matsumoto," he whispered, leaning into her embrace.

"You don't have to uphold yourself in front of me. You know, you don't have to carry those burdens alone. Let me help you, taichou…"

"Is this wrong to be held like this? I mean, I—"

"Why? You're your own person. It's not like you belonged to Hinamori-chan in the first place anyway—"

"How did you know about that?"

"I didn't. I heard bits and pieces of the conversation between the shinigami who came in to check on me. They thought I was still unconscious, but I was listening even though I couldn't see them. They said you broke up with Hinamori-chan for cheating with Kira. Taichou, I'm so sorry. Things like this happen—"

"I never imagined that it would happen to me with someone I thought I knew so well—"

"Well, I never thought that Gin was conspiring with Aizen…but if you don't want to get eaten up by your emotions, you have to let go. There's a lot of things in my past that I still struggle with that I'm not so proud of, but I try not to let them bring me down—"

Hitsugaya interrupted her, connecting his lips to her soft petal-like one for a sweet, chaste kiss that only lasted several seconds, but was enough to surprise the recently awakened fukutaichou.

"What was that for?" she asked when he pulled away, blushing tremendously.

"Just because," he murmured, trying his best to look as macho and nonchalant as possible, but failing miserably, as the blush that tinted his cheeks spread to his ears.

"Okay, so was that only a one time deal or can I expect more of those in the future?"

"I'm gonna go get Unohana-taichou," he said, standing up abruptly, limping oddly and scuttling over to the door. "Yeah, I think she should take a look at you. Be right back!"

Hitsugaya left a startled Matsumoto wide-eyed as she leaned back into her pillows in confusion.

Meanwhile Hitsugaya rushed down the hall to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. Looking into the mirror he was rather disappointed that his face still looked flushed. Sighing at the realization that the blush could take a while to disappear, he stared down uncomfortably and groaned as he felt another part of his body, namely the 'lower' part of his body had reacted to the exchange of air that occurred between him and his fukutaichou.

"_Fantastic…"_ he thought miserably. _"Now what am I supposed to do…?"_ Hitsugaya rolled his eyes as he leaned against the cool tile of the bathroom wall. _"These things are temporary, right?"_

0-0-0-0-0

_To be continued…_

_Cue ending theme…._

_Kon:Whoo-hoo! Sounds like Hitsugaya's got the hots for a certain big-boobied nee-san—OUCH! Who just kicked me in the head?!_

_Ririn:Shut up! Don't refer to women in such a derogatory manner. How would you like it if I called you a stupid funny-shaped anatomically-incorrect perverted lion doll?!_

_Kon:Ririn! Hey, I was just making an observation! My Rangiku-chan just happens to be well-endowed—it's a fact. You're just making opinionated subjective statements. Why—OUCH! Now who was it this time?!_

_Ichigo:What kinda perverted things are you thinking about now?!_

_Kon:Shut the hell up, Ichigo. I was just trying to do the little preview at the end of the show before I was so rudely interrupted—_

_Ichigo:I don't know what you all are so excited about—_

_Rukia: Ichigo, you have absolutely no taste—_

_Uryuu:Tell me about it. Everyone and their mother, except Kurosaki over here of course, is tuning in to see what Hitsugaya-san and Matsumoto-san are going to do next!_

_Ichigo:Ishida, you're so full of it—_

_Uryuu:Kurosaki, you are the last person that—_

_Yachiru:Hey, Ken-chan!_

_Kenpachi:What, Yachiru?_

_Yachiru:I don't get why shortie just got up and left big boobie at the end…_

_Kenpachi:Hah?!_

_Yachiru:Was there something wrong with his leg? Is that why he had to leave?_

_Kenpachi:Leg?! What leg?! Oh, well, I guess you could call it a leg—_

_Ikkaku:Try a THIRD leg!_

_Yumichika:Ikkaku! You are so uncouth when it comes to things like this!_

_Ikkaku:Then you fuckin' explain it to her!!_

_Yumichika:Me?!_

_Ikkaku:Yeah, since you don't want me to refer to it as a 'third leg'—_

_Yachiru:What's a 'third leg'?_

_Kenpachi:Ikkaku! Yumichika! I gotta go…to a taichou meeting—_

_Yumichika:I thought that was this morning—_

_Kenpachi:Yeah, well change of plans. You two explain that to her. I'll be back later—_

_Ikkaku:What?! Why do we gotta explain the birds and the bees to a bubblegum pink haired little fukutaichou that's not even ready to hear about—_

_Yachiru:Hey, I am too ready to hear whatever it is you're talking about animals and legs!_

_Yumichika:Okay, I'll explain it to you, fukutaichou! Well, when two guys get—_

_Ikkaku:Don't making them gay!! This ain't a yaoi fic!!_

_Yumichika:Ikkaku! Who's telling the story here?_

_Ikkaku:Well, she ain't a guy, so don't go all, 'when two guys'… on her._

_Yumichika:Fine, I'll make them straight….Okay, when a guy and a girl…or a girl and a girl—_

_Ikkaku:Taichou---Yumichika's trying to make the fukutaichou a lesbian—_

_Yumichika:Okay, fine, fine!_

_Kon:Tune in next time for another chapter of Chrysanthemums & Peaches to find out how the HitsuMatsu relationship is progressing!! Don't miss it! _


	10. Chapter 9

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter 9**

_Sweep…sweep…sweep…_

It was a breezy autumn afternoon. The ground had been littered with little red and orange maple leaves as a result of the cool front that had blown in late that morning.

_Sweep…sweep...sweep, sweep, sweep…_

The sun was beginning to sink slowly in the west and most of the leaves had been swept into piles and thrown away. Only a few leaves remained, falling gracefully from the blackening branches, carried gently wherever the wind should blow, and serving to irritate the quiet 10-bantai taichou who had been sweeping them up for the last three hours.

_sweep, SWEEP, __**SWEEPETY, SWEEP**_

"To hell with these leaves!" Hitsugaya grumbled grouchily, as another leaf fell to the ground, just beyond his reach. It was at this very moment that the child prodigy decided to throw the towel in on sweeping up the courtyard and threw the broom behind him, resulting in a squawk of surprise.

"Ack!"

"Sorr—" Hitsugaya started, as he turned around to face his assault victim. "I'm sorry, I wasn't—Oh, it's only you, Urahara."

"What do you mean, 'only you, Urahara'?!" the striped-hat-wearing-former taichou groaned, clutching his head as he straightened up from a clearly stalking position. "You hit me in the head with that broom—"

"That's your fault for coming from behind me," retorted Hitsugaya. "Besides, you were trying to grope me again weren't you, you pedophile!"

"Now, now, what accusations," sighed Urahara in mock surprise. "And without a shred of proof too—"

"Well, explain what you were doing hunched over, creeping towards me from behind, then."

"That would be my new exercise program designed for muscular—"

"Tenchou! Tenchou! Emergency, emergency!" shouted Tessai, interrupting Urahara's explanation and nearly running the crafty shop owner over in his haste.

"What appears to be the problem?" asked Urahara, lifting his hat and fanning his face with it.

"Tenchou, there's no rice!"

"I thought we just bought rice last week—"

"As you said, Tenchou, we did purchase rice last week, however the exact whereabouts of thirty kilos of rice remain unknown—"

"How do you misplace thirty kilos of rice?" Hitsugaya mumbled to himself, with one eyebrow raised in curiosity, before turning his attention to a flock of birds that flew over the city. "I wonder how Matsumoto is doing? She should be back at the office right about now…"

0-0-0-0-0

"Taiiiichoooooouuu! Matsumoto reporting for duty in tip top condition!" Matsumoto called from outside of the 10-bantai taichou's office, knocking rather loudly. She was late—not her usual thirty to forty minutes late, but more like two hours late. "Taichou! Yoo-hoo?"

"Oh, Matsumoto-fukutaichou, good to see you back," bowed Nanao, as she passed by with a large stack of papers. "Have you recovered completely?"

"Yup, yup, good as new—"

"Kyouraku-taichou, get your lazy self back in that office!" Nanao commanded, turning her focus from Matsumoto momentarily.

"But Nanao-chan," Shunsui whined.

"Stop crawling around on the floor and get back to work! These evaluations were due last week!" the formidable fukutaichou ordered.

"Yes, ma'am…" he groaned childishly, as he crept back into his office.

"Sorry, what were you saying, Matsumoto-fukutaichou?" asked the overly organized 8-bantai fukutaichou.

"Perfect health, that's me," Matsumoto smiled nervously, a sweat drop forming on her forehead as she waved her hands helplessly. "Ooh, taichou, is that you? Yes, I think I hear my lovely taichou calling me. Good luck with those reports, Nanao-chan!"

Matsumoto could care less whether her taichou got mad at her for entering without permission. "Sheesh, she can be scary," Matsumoto sighed, as she slid into the snow haired taichou's office, half expecting a lecture. Getting none, she walked around the quiet office.

"Taichou?" she called. "Taichou, where are you?"

Matsumoto walked around the chairs, lifting up the blankets and looking under the cushions.

"Taichou?" Matsumoto called, walking over to his desk, picking up various pieces of paper, examining them, then returning them with disinterest. "Hmm, I wonder where he went…"

"Nanao-chan?" called Matsumoto walking back out into the hallway in search of the 8-bantai fukutaichou.

"…That's why I told you to get it done sooner!" shouted Nanao angrily.

"But Nanao-chan, Yama-jii is on my case _nooooooowwwwwww_," Shunsui whined.

"This is what you get for going out drinking with Ukitake-taichou on a weekday," she said, not giving him a single shred of pity.

"Oh, Rangiku-chan, you're back?" squealed Shunsui excitedly. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you, am I interrupting something?" she asked.

"YES!! NO!!" came the simultaneous response, the negative obviously coming from a Shunsui that was trying to avoid a lecture.

"We mustn't make our guest feel unwelcome," said Shunsui jollily, laying the chivalry on thickly as he offered Matsumoto a chair. "What can we do for you?"

"Have you seen my taichou?" Matsumoto asked curiously, running her fingers through her hair lazily.

"Now that you mention it," Nanao said looking up to the ceiling, and chewing on the end of a brush. "I think he hasn't been in the office for about a week."

"Really? That's unusual…"

"Taichou, do you recall anything?" commanded Nanao. "You're sometimes here with Ukitake-taichou drinking at night, right?"

"Yeah…I mean…oops. Looks like the cat's out of the bag. Can I plead the fifth?"

"Just get on with it! When was the last time you saw Hitsugaya-taichou?!"

"Let's see…today's Thursday…Last week Thursday…I didn't see him then. Monday, I know I saw him…Maybe Monday or Tuesday. Monday I know I definitely saw him. Tuesday I think I may have seen him, but I could have just been drunk…"

"Well, I can tell you that he's not in the taichou meeting," Nanao offered, pushing her glasses slightly up the bridge of her nose. "It was cancelled at the last minute. Yamamoto-soutaichou said something about finishing bantai evaluations for all EVEN NUMBERED BANTAI," Nanao emphasized loudly towards a certain fidgety taichou.

"…What….?"

"Taichou!" she said exasperatedly, but noticing Matsumoto's momentary moment of panic, "Oh, but don't worry, Hitsugaya-taichou already finished 10-bantai's evaluations ages ago, unlike SOME PEOPLE HERE!"

"Oh, I see…" Matsumoto said quietly.

"Matsumoto-fukutaichou, is something wrong?" Nanao asked concernedly.

"Yeah, Rangiku-chan," chirped Shunsui. "You're usually a bit more lively…?"

"Nothing, thanks anyway though," Matsumoto said, disappointment evident in her voice.

"Sorry we couldn't be of assistance."

"No, not at all. I guess I must have been more tired than I thought I was," Matsumoto said, a sad smile gracing her face for a moment, before walking out of the 8-bantai office.

"…Hey! Don't think you're getting away, taichou!" shouted Nanao, chasing the sakura haori wearing taichou that was trying to escape with an aloof Matsumoto, lost in her thoughts.

"_And I thought I'd surprise him today too,_" thought Matsumoto gloomily. "_I wonder where he could be….? I checked the training area before I came here—he wasn't there. There's no taichou meeting and if Yamamoto-soutaichou wants those evaluations, then he's probably not meeting with the soutaichou now…Where did he go?_"

Matsumoto wandered back into the familiar 10-bantai office that despite its sparse appearance, somehow looked more lonely and empty than she was used to.

"_Was taichou's existence really such that it made that big of a difference? I mean, he only really sat there, read, and signed paperwork—not exactly high quality conversation and bonding going on here,"_ she wondered. "_Maybe it was his mere existence that made me feel safe and at home…"_

Matsumoto stood behind the chair looking at the papers on his desk once again, flipping through the files and folders in the hopes that they would tell her where the 10-bantai taichou had disappeared to. Suddenly Matsumoto remembered a drunken conversation with the other handsome white haired taichou, Ukitake. The sickly taichou had volunteered some information that made no sense at the time, but maybe…

"_Well, it's not that unusual for Hitsugaya-taichou to disappear for days or weeks at a time. Sometimes he finds something that he wants to investigate immediately and leaves without warning. I think he mentioned something about a locked drawer…"_

"Well, there's only one place that he locks," Matsumoto said aloud to no one in particular, looking around the office. "All the file cabinets are unlocked, the shelves are open, as is this middle drawer for brushes, that drawer has office supplies—which leaves this drawer…"

Matsumoto gazed at the bottom drawer of the desk. On it was not a typical reiatsu seal, but an ordinary looking lock-and-key desk lock. "Hmm…"

Matsumoto looked at the lock, then she ran her hand on the inside of the desk—no luck. She ran her fingers under the bottom of the drawer—_bingo_. Under the desk, the key had been stuck by a magnet. Pulling the key, she carefully inserted it into the hole, making sure not to dent the lock or key. Surprised that it actually opened the drawer, she returned the key to its original place before proceeding to look at the contents.

The first thing she discovered shocked her. It was a pad of paper—the same pad of paper that she had given to her taichou one Christmas. It read '_From the desk of 10-bantai taichou, Hitsugaya Toushirou_' at the bottom and was embossed in glittery blue ink. Next to her personalized message was a chibi Hitsugaya doodle that she had drawn and taken to the printer's to make into a pad. This chibi Hitsugaya was of course round and cute with a little Hyourinmaru on his side, but just the fact that it was sparkly and well, gaudy, even by Matsumoto's standards, Matsumoto was surprised that he hadn't thrown it away.

In fact, what shocked her more was that he had been using the pad. The sticky residue that held the pad together hung several millimeters off the edge and Matsumoto even noticed a letter that had yet to be mailed under the pad. The glittery motif was easily visible through the thin envelope that contained it. She couldn't read anything written, nor was there any address on the envelope.

Hoping to find another letter, she rummaged a bit and a sheet of paper slid out from somewhere. Picking the paper up curiously, she noticed it was a memo from the soutaichou.

"What do we have here?" she said, examining the seal, before unfolding the memo.

"_Drafting for Deployment to the Material World. Per the direct order of the Soutaichou, Yanamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni, 10-bantai taichou, Hitsugaya Toushirou, effective immediately, you are to be deployed to the Material World until further notice. Sources have confirmed the existence of Aizen Sousuke in the Material World. He is under suspicion for making possible contact with the humans and should be monitored by the Gotei 13. Upon receiving this message you are to report to the Grand Hall of 1-bantai. Preparations are complete. Your mission: To investigate possible interaction between the humans and ex-taichou accused of treason, Tousen Kaname and …Ichimaru Gin…Report immediately..._"

Matsumoto looked at the top of the memo. "That's around the time Nanao-chan and Kyouraku-taichou said he stopped showing up…" Matsumoto clutched the paper tightly, the clock ticking in the background almost ominously, as she watched the overcast day turn cloudy and the roll of thunder bellow deeply. Rain came as suddenly as the thunder and change in weather. Matsumoto walked over to shut the window. The downpour seemed to envelope everything in a thick, dull gray. The air was thick, almost stifling for the troubled fukutaichou.

"_Gin…Gin…What are you thinking…?_" she thought as she slid the delicate windows shut.

_To be continued…_

* * *

A/N: Yes, I am evil, leaving you all at a cliff hanger. Sorry I've been so slow at updating. I've had some personal stuff going on and with the start of the semester, things have been hectic to say the least. I'm sorry, this is just a teaser, I promise there will be more—people have been needling me about updates and I'm so bad at updating. Please, I know this chapter is short, but to tie you sap junkies of bad fiction over until the next update—I throw you this morsel. Thanks for all your support up until now. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu –Mayonaka no Taiyou 


	11. Chapter 10

_The long awaited, long overdue continuation..._

Disclaimer: KTNM

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter 10**

"Journal Entry #758-23. All high outputs of reiatsu accounted for—no activity to possibly link to the appearance of former taichou Aizen, Ichimaru, or Tousen. Investigations of the alleged area have proved fruitless. Hollow situation has been taken care of by shinigami representative, Kurosaki Ichigo and dispatched backup advisor, Kuchiki Rukia of 13-bantai…"

Hitsugaya was still in awe of the tiny blinking cursor that was able to magically transform the curvy hiragana characters into the proper kanji equivalents at the touch of a button, mainly the long, thin one in the middle of the 'board of keys'. Then, just for the heck of it, he manipulated the 'rat-like device' into opening some of his 'saved' files, bringing up his previous journal entries. Smirking to himself, he pointed to the little 'X' at the top and closed each one until he was left with only the most recent entry, making a mental note to make all paperwork within his bantai paperless.

Speaking of paperwork, back in the Seireitei at the 10-bantai headquarters, at a certain taichou's desk, lay the undeniable form of a certain 'well-endowed' fukutaichou, passed out of course on the paperwork in front of her.

"_Geez, there is just no end to this_," Matsumoto thought miserably, opening one eye slowly before lifting her head up just enough so that she could peel off the piece of paper that was half plastered across her face. Staring at the heaps of paperwork littering the quiet office, she groaned, as she resumed sorting and routing the mountains of paperwork.

It had been about a month since the discovery of the notice that her taichou had been dispatched to the Material World. One week into the discovery, she had tried to get herself dispatched, but as this was apparently a secret mission, and that everyone within the Gotei 13 was swamped with paperwork, there was no need for her to be dispatched. Matsumoto had essentially been put in charge of the administrative paperwork until the return of her taichou. Of course had the mission just been to investigate Aizen, Matsumoto would have been more than happy to remain the queen of paperwork, but the appearance of her only childhood friend and family definitely changed things for the 10-bantai fukutaichou. She just had to somehow get herself dispatched to the Material World.

0-0-0-0-0

Hitsugaya often had hunches—hunches about people, situations, you name it. Of course he hated hunches because they were not really based on anything. They were not necessarily logical or scientific, but he could not argue with his gut intuition when it came to these things—mainly because, well, it was right most of the time. Every inch of him had been screaming warnings to his brain. But did he listen—no. He cursed his pride for interfering with his better judgment, which later resulted in what people might call fate or destiny, entities that Hitsugaya generally did not believe in but did not like to tempt either.

Something had told him to move back to Urahara's shop and resume investigations with the crafty shopowner's residence as his main base, but he rather liked this new apartment that he had just settled into. It was in a convenient location, but still maintained the quiet atmosphere that the 10-bantai taichou preferred to work in.

Not knowing when he would be allowed to return to the Seireitei, he had found himself a few part time jobs to supplement his stipend from the Soul Society. The jobs he engaged in were rather simple in nature and ranged from working at a convenience store to handing out packages of tissues or fliers to pedestrians. While he worked, the dispatched taichou was able to observe areas of town at the same time and monitor them for any suspicious activity.

One day, he had just been minding his own business typing up his latest report when suddenly he heard a crash, two thumps and a loud thud outside his balcony. Not one to underestimate the enemy, he reached back for his zanpakutou and cautiously made his way to the balcony. Then in one swift motion, he pushed the curtain back and threw open the sliding door to find….nothing. Puzzled, he stuck his head out and looked all around only to find that he was the only idiot with an open window in the middle of the day. With a furrowed brow, he stepped back into his apartment only to find himself face to face with the person he least expected to see in the Material World.

"M-M-M-Matsumoto!" he stuttered, backpedaling into the wall.

"Hello---!" she waved, greeting her surprised taichou.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" he demanded. "More importantly—how did you get in here?!"

"The front door was open," she said, pointing to the front door, which she had left open upon entry.

"Never mind that," Hitsugaya said, walking over to close the door. "That still doesn't explain what you are doing here!"

"I came to see you!"

"Why?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, they finally dispatched me to the Material World because I was soooo lonely and lost without you," she said bouncing over (in more ways than one) to hug her startled taichou.

"I'm sure…" Hitsugaya said, rolling his eyes. "I didn't receive any dispatch notice—"

"Oh, they must have sent it to Urahara-san's place—" Matsumoto said cutting in quickly.

"Okay…well, then how long will you be here and why were you sent here?" Hitsugaya said walking to the tiny kitchen and opening the refrigerator to pull out a large pitcher. "Tea?"

"Oh, thank you," Matsumoto said, sitting down at the western style table set in the middle of the kitchen.

Hitsugaya took the two drying glasses that had been sitting on the rack above the sink and filled them with ice before pouring the tea into them. Setting one in front of his fukutaichou, he sat down opposite her and looked at her expectantly.

"Well, I don't know about how long, but they said to assist you with your investigation—"

"Strange, I didn't request for back up," Hitsugaya mumbled to himself as he sipped the cool liquid quietly. "And there hasn't really been much activity here…Matsumoto, isn't the Seireitei in need of more staff—"

"This place is amazing!" Matsumoto said, standing up suddenly and spinning around the room. "Taichou, you will let me stay here, right?"

Matsumoto stared at him with her pouty face and puppy eyes. Hitsugaya could feel a headache coming on. So this was what his gut had been warning him about.

"Whatever," he said standing up and putting his empty glass into the sink.

"Yippee!" she said glomping him in excitement.

"I gotta go to work," he said untangling himself from her grasp. Hitsugaya pulled open a drawer under the sink and rummaged for several moments before tossing his fukutaichou a ring with a bunch of keys on it. "The one with the red sticker on it is the spare to the apartment. The green one is for the elevator and the gold one is to get into the complex after 10. If you need money for the washing machine, there's some change in the drawer by the front door. The machines are on the first floor—ask the front desk if you can't find them. There's also some money in the drawer if you need it. I'll be going then."

Hitsugaya picked up his duffel bag near the door and his keys and exited quietly, leaving Matsumoto to herself.

"Have a good day, then," she whispered as she set down the keys and took her glass to the sink. After she washed the two glasses and set them on the rack to dry, she opened the refrigerator. "Hmm…What shall we have for dinner?"

Matsumoto scanned the refrigerator. Two pitchers of green tea, a pint of milk, a quarter of a head of cabbage, two kiwis, half a daikon (type of radish), an egg and a small cup of plain yogurt.

"_Perfect,_" Matsumoto thought to herself. "_Does he not eat anything that isn't green or white?"_

Shutting the door, she looked around the kitchen surveying the counters and checking in the cupboards, she evaluated the apartment inventory to be the following. Several kilos of rice (thank god), several packages of rice noodles, a small bottle of sesame oil, a small jug of soy sauce, and a small pot of sugar.

"_Fantastic. There's practically nothing to eat here!_" Matsumoto sighed and closed the cupboard that contained the whole three small packages of rice noodles. "_Well, I don't want to starve…And I don't have any clothes or anything, so…_"

"Shopping it is!" she declared cheerfully, grabbing the keys her taichou had left her and running out the door.

0-0-0-0-0

Hitsugaya returned to the apartment around 11 that night. When he let himself in, the lights were all on, there were shopping bags littered across the floor, and there was dinner on the table.

"Excuse me, wrong apartment," he said bowing and excusing himself.

"Taichou!" called a familiar voice. "Welcome home!"

Then everything fell into place and the afternoon's events floated back into his mind. "I'm home. And you went…shopping…"

Hitsugaya took off his shoes and walked into the living/dining room, the divisions of which were rather ambiguous, as it was one of those kitchen and living combination type apartments. His kitchen was no longer the minimalist bachelor style. Matsumoto had gone to the trouble of stocking it with things from seasonings, fruits and vegetables to frivolous things like snacks, chocolate, and instant ramen.

"Taichou, you're so late!" grumbled Matsumoto, pouting cutely with her hair pulled back in the white handkerchief, as she stood there like an angry wife waving her ladle around with her apron over her Material World clothes, an extreme change from the uniform he was used to seeing her in. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to come home…"

Matsumoto was gabbing away about him not having the decency to call that he was going to be this late, but he did not really care. He felt the heat rushing to his cheeks as he stared at his _very_ attractive fukutaichou. He was sure that Matsumoto had not changed since he met her the day he became a taichou, but somehow he suddenly felt _aware _of her attractiveness—something he did not really notice before.

"Are you listening, taichou?" Matsumoto said, picking up one of the lacquered soup bowls and ladling the miso soup on the stove into them.

He was like a deer caught in the headlights of a car, shocked and frozen in time. Matsumoto of course was oblivious and in no time brought the bowls of soup and rice along with the main dish to the table. The tea pitcher was dripping with condensation and formed a puddle around the rectangular jug. The ice that had been in the glasses had nearly melted, leading him to believe that she thought he was planning to come home a lot earlier.

"This part-time job must be really stressful if it makes you stare out into space when you come home from it," commented Matsumoto, dumping the water in the glasses down the drain and filling them with fresh ice cubes.

Not moving, but merely shifting his focus, he stared at the very _womanly_ body of his fukutaichou, feeling his entire face flush as he stared at the curvaceous woman in front of him, who at this time was taking off her apron and undoing the handkerchief from her hair.

Matsumoto shook her hair loose and ran her fingers through it several times, before noticing that her taichou had not said one word to her since he had returned.

"Taichou?" she said walking over to him. "Taichou are you all right? You're looking a little flushed. Are you all right? Are you catching a cold or something?"

Matsumoto had to put the back of her hand to her forehead and touch his with the other before he snapped back to reality.

"N-No, I'm fine," he said, lightly batting her hand away.

"Well, come eat then!" she urged, pulling him towards the table. "Don't worry, it's not bad, I promise!"

"Let me go wash up," he said quickly.

"All right, hurry up. I'm hungry."

Hitsugaya nodded and walked to the sink outside the bathroom. Splashing water on his face, he made a vain, but fruitless attempt to force the blood away from his face before returning to the table and sitting across of Matsumoto.

"Thanks," he said, placing his hands together before picking up his chopsticks and picking up one of the pickled vegetables on one of the plates. After he had determined it to not be poisonous, he picked at the broiled fish in front of him. Surprised that it was as it looked, simply a filet of broiled fish, he began to enjoy his meal more visibly.

"It's good," he said quietly, sipping the steaming bowl of soup. He had heard about the indiscriminate taste buds of Orihime and Matsumoto and was worried that she might cook the weird concoctions that Kurosaki Ichigo's friend often created.

"I'm glad," Matsumoto said, putting down her own rice bowl. "I was worried that maybe you had eaten already or maybe that you didn't like fish."

Hitsugaya was very quiet, as he enjoyed the subtle saltiness of the fish and the tangy vinegar of the vegetables that went well with the simplicity of the miso soup with tiny circles of green onion and cubes of tofu floating around. Matsumoto, however, did not like this whole silent atmosphere and began chatting to fill the silence.

"Taichou, I went to the supermarket and there were so many weird things there," she started, as she tried to get his attention. "The employees were manning these mini booths that allowed the customers to try the food before they bought them. What a concept!"

When she was certain that he was listening, she continued with her story. "And well, I tasted all these weird things that we don't have in the Seireitei. There was this weird alcohol made from grapes called 'vine' or 'wine' or something. Can you imagine that? Alcohol not made of rice? Oh and I tried like 3 different kinds of cheese today. I don't know if I like the cheese that comes from this country called 'America'. It tasted kinda weird but the one from 'France' was really soft and delicate. And right next to the cheese booth was this guy selling these mini sausages. And part of the display though, he created this village made out of sausages. He had mice, people, trees, bridges, and even octopi made of sausages!"

Hitsugaya eyed Matsumoto as she described her shopping adventures with grandiose gestures from the sausage village, to her trip to the department stores in search of some clothing, the two hollows she ran into while she was looking for some shoes, and the phone numbers from three guys and one girl she had received while walking around in town.

"It was amazing, taichou. The Material World is really exciting. How was your job?"

"Nothing special," he responded, resting his chopstick at the edge of one of the plates.

"What were you doing?"

"Moving furniture."

"Moving furniture? That's an odd job…"

"In the Material World, there are people who change residences quite frequently and they pay to have people help them move boxes and furniture into their new apartments and homes."

"Oh, I see…Hey, taichou, why weren't you at Urahara-san's place?" asked Matsumoto. "Isn't it easier for you to work from there?"

"I decided that since I wasn't sure how long I would be dispatched here, I would find myself and apartment. It's a lot quieter and makes me stand out less—well at least on a physical level. In terms of reiatsu, it doesn't really matter where I live, as I'm still 'visible' regardless of where I live, but at least it helps me to blend in with society a lot better. As you probably already know, I'm not here to do hollow control or do administrative work like that guy with the afro that stands on top of buildings here. Kurosaki Ichigo generally takes care of the hollows and I'm not entirely sure what the guy with the afro does, but I'm here to look for signs that Aizen is starting to make his move. With several bursts of reiatsu that have been observed and documented, I'm supposed to be doing surveillance of the city. Since the issue was that Aizen was making contact with some humans, I figured it would be easier for me to come by information if I blended in better with the humans. Not that Aizen is stupid enough to contact me and tell me his plans, but maybe I can find the humans who have made contact with Aizen by interacting more naturally within society."

"How goes the investigation? Any progress?"

"Not much. To be honest, Matsumoto, I'm not sure why they sent me here. I think my existence is actually a hindrance to the investigation. With me here in the Material World, I think that Aizen is less likely to blatantly pursue whatever preparations he had been making up until my deployment. So far, I have not observed any interaction since I came here. Maybe my role is deterrence, but I think Aizen will make his move regardless of what we do. It's only a matter of time. Though, I am rather curious as to why they sent you here despite their insistence on the secrecy of this mission. But anyway, if your role is to assist me with the investigation, then maybe you can help me follow up on some leads I have been meaning to examine or help me uncover some new leads or something tomorrow."

"Taichou, what do you tell people? I mean, you don't expect people to believe that you are just a 'normal' person do you?" Matsumoto asked, stacking up the dishes on the table and taking them to the sink.

"I tell them I'm half Japanese and was born and raised 'abroad' so they don't ask too many questions. Why?"

"Well, I ran into this lady when I was coming back from grocery shopping," Matsumoto began, as she began putting the leftover food into bowls and containers and taking them to the refrigerator.

"What lady?" asked Hitsugaya as he stacked up the rest of the dishes on the table and helped wipe the table.

"I don't know. She's an older lady, with graying hair, streaked purple and loud clothes—"

"Great, you ran into the landlord's wife—" muttered Hitsugaya.

"She asked me where I was going and when she saw where I 'lived' she asked about my relationship to you," Matsumoto responded as she began washing the dishes.

"And what did you say?" asked Hitsugaya picking up a towel and beginning to wipe the dishes.

"Well, I was so startled and I forgot that she could see me…" Matsumoto trailed off, placing the plate she had been washing onto the rack.

"Matsumoto," warned Hitsugaya dangerously.

"Taichou, please don't be mad—"

"Matsumoto, what did you say to her?"

"Well, she was saying how young people these days are falling into a state of moral depravity and that she was upset that the were so many people living here who weren't even married and they were raising two children. And she went on about the sacred institution of marriage, soo…."

Matsumoto had placed the last dish onto the rack and was wiping down the sink.

"What did you say to her?"

"Um, well, by that time, she saw me opening up your apartment and there was nowhere for me to run…so I kinda told her I was your _wife_…"

"MY WHAT?!" Hitsugaya said, dropping the plate.

"Taichou, it was to protect your image," protested Matsumoto, catching the plate midair and setting it on the counter. "I figured she was probably the landlord or something—"

"MATSUMOTO!" Hitsugaya shouted, blushing as he slapped his forehead.

"Aw, come on, taichou, it's not so bad—"

"Didn't that goddamn woman ask even more questions like why she's never seen you before?!"

"Yes, but it wasn't anything bad!" protested Matsumoto. "I just told her I had been out of town for awhile and I just came back. Why are you so upset?"

"Now we will have to pretend to be a couple in front of people!" groaned Hitsugaya miserably. Curse him for not following his intuition that he should have stayed home from work today. "It's bad enough that I have to be nice to that woman. She's so nosy and in everyone else's business, which is why I need her in the first place. She's one of my informants of suspicious behavior, though she doesn't know it. She invited you to tea, didn't she?"

"Yes, why?"

"Did you accept?"

"Of course."

"Damn."

"What's wrong with that? It could be fun, taichou, I mean, _DARLING_—"

"Never mind! I'm gonna go take a bath and go to bed!" said the blushing 10-bantai taichou.

"Let me come with you, taichou," Matsumoto teased.

"NO!…I mean, no thank you."

"Oh, but Darling, we're a couple and it's natural that the wife take care of her husband's needs—" She really was merciless when it came to teasing. "Let me wash your back for you!"

"You've already taken a bath!"

"But I could take another, just for you—" she offered following him to the bathroom.

"Matsumoto!"

"Okay, okay!" she said, as he slammed the door between them blushing furiously.

As soon as Matsumoto heard the sound of running water, she smiled and went to clean up the shopping bags that she had just dropped onto the floor when she came back. Going through the bags, she put away the four pairs of shoes she bought; lining them up neatly near the door on the little shoe rack she had also bought. Then she pulled out some hangers and began hanging her clothes in the closet, taking up seventy percent of the total closet space, which surprisingly still left room for more clothes, as her taichou had only been using about fifteen percent of the total closet space. The rest of her clothes went into the bottom two drawers of the dresser, which had been empty. After she folded up the shopping bags and stuck them in the kitchen, she decided to get ready for bed too.

Hitsugaya emerged from the bath, calmer, but by no means any more relaxed. He was still rather irritated by this recent development and with his towel wrapped around his waist, he exited the bathroom to find a light floral scent making its way through his nose. Finding no sign of Matsumoto, he changed into the yukata he normally slept in and towel dried his hair quickly noting that the pleasant mixture of perfume, face soap, and lotion was actually nice and relaxing.

He wandered back to the living room and found Matsumoto in her pajamas, a rather revealing pink silk nightgown the same color as the sash she wore with her shinigami uniform with a delicate lace pattern accentuating her bust, sitting in front of the television having a small flask of sake.

"Taichou!" she called, beckoning for him to come sit next to her. "Come have some sake. I had it in the fridge—it's really good."

He hesitated for a moment; then he thought "_Why not?_ _It's only Matsumoto and me…_"

Hitsugaya walked over and sat several places away from her. Matsumoto ignored this fact and reached over to pour him some of her sake, as she laughed at the routine the comedians on TV were performing with the two men dressed as schoolgirls. The white haired taichou took a sip and swished the alcohol around in his mouth before allowing it to slip down his throat. The sake did not burn, but made his insides feel warm as it made its way down, which he took as a sign to consume a bit more. He gazed at Matsumoto as she was clearly enjoying her sake and pouring more into his glass, while she observed human entertainment at its crudest.

The 10-bantai taichou had several glasses of the clear rice-based alcohol before beginning to feel the sleep-inducing effects of the beverage. Downing the last bit in his glass, he stood up, wobbling slightly and opened up the living room, pushing the shoji door to reveal a bedroom. He pulled out an extra futon and laid it down next to the bed.

"You can sleep on the bed," he mumbled as he crawled under the futon on the floor and yawned loudly as he rolled over so that his back faced her.

Matsumoto looked up and smiled to herself at the sight of the sleepy taichou in front of her, who even though was inebriated was gentlemanly enough to offer her the bed and sleep on the floor. She turned off the television, and drank the last of the sake before taking the glasses to the sink. Checking to make sure the windows were closed and the door was locked, she turned off the light. Surprising even herself, she lifted up the futon and crawled under the covers next to the 10-bantai taichou, pressing her warm body up against his strong back.

"Not on your life—not unless you're sleeping with me in it," she whispered to the passed out taichou, as she too drifted off to sleep next to him.

_To be continued…_

0-0-0-0-0

_Cue ending theme…._

_Kon: Woo-hoo! Look who's sleeping with the taichou! If it isn't Rangiku-chan, getting her taichou drunk and climbing into bed with him! I bet she purposely told that old lady that she was Toushirou's wife—_

_Hitsugaya: That's Hitsugaya-taichou to you—_

_Matsumoto: That's not true at all! That woman just asked me and I was totally tongue-tied, and being the loyal fukutaichou that I am, I protected his honor!_

_Yachiru: Who knew that big boobie-oneesan was such a good cook!_

_Matsumoto: Yachiru-chan, you're in this too?!_

_Yachiru: I wanna know what happens between big boobie-oneesan and shortie! Baldie, go find out!_

_Ikkaku: Don't call me 'Baldie'!_

_Yumichika: Ah, the sexual tension between Hitsugaya-taichou and Matsumoto-fukutaichou that is like a rose that has bloomed to its fullest! It's almost too much to bear!_

_Hitsugaya: What sexual tension?!_

_Matsumoto: Oh come on, taichou! Don't deny it. There is definitely something between us! I know you were checking Miki and Kiki out! They want to come out and play! Look, taichou! They're excited to see you too!_

_Hitsugaya: Matsumoto!!_

_Matsumoto: Oopsie! Don't go away! Yes, the author is lazy and horrible at updating, but I think things are about to get really good, between my taichou and me. This has got to be fate or destiny or something!_

_Hitsugaya: I still don't believe in fate…_


	12. Chapter 11 and 12

Disclaimer: KTNM.

Author's Note: Chapter 11…back with a vengeance! I warn you, things are heating up between Hitsugaya and Matsumoto. And well, this chapter may be slightly…um, suggestive?

But hey, in my defense, I think that since the protagonists are both 'mature' and are capable of making their own decisions, that especially in the case of our favorite vertically challenged taichou…beware of the woes of sexual frustration!

This was supposed to be two separate chapters, but 11 ended up being a little longer than I planned and 12 a little shorter than I hoped, so I'm joining these two for a HitsuMatsu double whammy. Enjoy.

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter 11 & 12 (Special)**

Hitsugaya opened one eye sleepily in response to the sunlight peeking through the all too thin curtains and raising the overall temperature of the room to slightly warm--too warm to sleep any longer. It took him several moments for his eyes to focus and when they did, he found himself about five centimeters from two globes of undulating flesh corresponding to the light breathing of his golden-haired fukutaichou. Turning beet red at the sight of her 'pets' as she liked to call them, he was in awe of the possibility that they might be larger than his head.

He willed his head or body or something to turn himself around, but he felt drawn to them. They were so…big. He was feeling rather guilty and lecherous at this point for staring at them so shamelessly while she was sleeping, almost like he was taking advantage of her while she was passed out, but he could not help but stare like some wide-eyed kid in a candy shop.

Then in his moment of weakness, Matsumoto suddenly reached forward and embraced him, drawing his body closer to hers like he was a teddy bear, shoving his face into the twins that threatened to spill out from her pajamas. Caught off guard, he was thrust into the Himalayan Mountains without his oxygen tank, not to mention even a breath of air, doomed to death by asphyxiation. Flailing his arms wildly for what seemed like several tortuous minutes, he managed to awaken his sleeping fukutaichou, who sat up and rubbed one eye sleepily, releasing the young taichou from the death grip.

"Taichou?" Matsumoto mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Matsumoto!" he gasped, raising one hand shakily and pointing to her accusingly. "What were you trying to do—kill me?!"

Matsumoto looked rather confused as she looked about the room. "Where are we? What are you talking about, taichou? What time is it—"

"Never mind!" Hitsugaya said huffily, as he shoved the futon aside and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"To take a shower!" Hitsugaya responded, stomping off to the bathroom and slamming the door with a resounding bang. Conclusion: they were as soft as they looked. Danger level: Potentially lethal. Score: Matsumoto: 1, Hitsugaya: 0. Hitsugaya looked down at the lower half of his body and rolled his eyes.

"_Traitor!_" he cursed to his lower half, slapping his forehead as he stripped himself of his clothes and ran the cold water. Correction—Matsumoto: 2, Hitsugaya: 0.

0-0-0-0-0

When Hitsugaya came out of the shower, the bedding had been put away and he found Matsumoto in the kitchen humming to herself as she peeled the dark red skin off the apple. It was not the sexiest thing he ever saw as much of the apple was going into the plastic bag in the sink she was peeling it over. She managed to hack off small bits of the apple in her attempt to rid the fruit from its skin. Hitsugaya did not say a word, but simply took a paring knife from its peg on the kitchen wall, walked over to the sink, took the apple from her hand gently and began running the sharp blade around the uneven surface.

"Ah, taichou. Good morning," she said, as she was relieved of her fruit peeling duties. "Thanks, I have never been able to peel fruit very well…"

Matsumoto walked over to the stove and put some of the previous night's miso soup into bowls and set it next to the rice bowls on the table.

"Taichou," the surprisingly cheerful fukutaichou addressed her quiet taichou. "I was going to sleep in, but it was just too hot in here. Is there air conditioning or something here?"

"The control is near the door," he said, slicing the fruit and removing the core.

"Oh, okay," she said, walking past him, the faint smell of her face powder quietly teasing his senses.

Hitsugaya turned his head slightly to gaze at the swaying curves as Matsumoto padded over to switch on the cooling system.

"Whoops," Matsumoto said, as she watched the remote fall into the narrow gap behind the bookshelf with a clatter. It was not a very tall shelf, but it was quite large and filled with her taichou's books, it looked quite heavy. Groaning loudly, Matsumoto grabbed the mini broom and was trying to whack it out, but flush against an odd corner of the room, she was forced to clamber up and try and whack it out from the top in the hopes that it would slide out to the right into the open area.

"Come out you—whatever the heck you are!" she shouted as she wiggled forward, her legs dangling over the edge.

Hitsugaya stared—he could not help it. She was wearing a short skirt that was working its way up rather dangerously as it revealed the inside of her creamy white thighs. When she tried to lift up her knee in an attempt to balance her weight as she reached into the far corner, the 10-bantai taichou thought his brain might explode from the visual stimulation. Then as luck would have it, or perhaps as punishment from above, he was so mesmerized and distracted that he sliced his finger. Hissing as he pulled his hand back in recoil at the sudden stinging pain on the sensitive tactile sensors, he left several spots of blood on the countertop near the sink. With his right hand slightly raised, the blood slowly making its way down his hand in two separate rivulets on opposite sides of the appendage, he shoved the apples onto a plate with his other hand and was about to tend to his wound when he felt something warm and wet enclose around his index finger.

To his horror, Matsumoto was now behind him sucking on his slightly bleeding finger, her velvety tongue lapping up the burgundy fluid that the slit emitted tainted with the sweetness of the fresh cut apple. His finger may have been in pain, but between her two rows of perfect teeth with her tongue slowly forcing it against her bottom teeth slightly while she ran her tongue along the calloused digit rather suggestively, his body was rocking on the divide between pain and pleasure. Hitsugaya felt his body temperature rise several degrees, completely nullifying his earlier efforts in the freezing shower as she swirled her tongue around his finger and sucked gently.

Then as suddenly as she had appeared, Matsumoto heard the toaster go off and flew over to the counter to retrieve the lightly toasted thick slices, leaving her taichou staring ahead blankly for several moments before his finger felt slightly chilly from the break in contact.

"Taichou, shouldn't you put a bandage or something on that?" she said, pulling the hot slices off the wire rack and onto a plate, trying not to burn her fingers as Orihime had once shown her was the danger of the modern toaster.

"Yeah…okay, right," Hitsugaya said, as if snapping out of his trance and bringing the plate of apples to the table with his uninjured hand.

Matsumoto barely noticed that he had gone in the general direction of the bathroom in search of bandages as she took out the rest of the breakfast items from the refrigerator. Then the phone rang.

"Taichou, the phone—" Matsumoto said, turning around to find he had wandered off. Shrugging, she picked up the cordless white phone. "Hello?…May I ask who's calling?…I'm sorry he's not available right now, can I take a message?…Mm hm, no, this is his wife…Tonight? Oh, but we couldn't possibly…Yes, uh huh. Yes, yes, I agree that we should make our neighborhoods safer…The park? Well, I'm not one for parks…children? No, we don't have any…At least not yet…Uh huh, okay, well I guess we could stop on our way home tonight for coffee. All right, see you then. Thanks, you too—"

"Who was that?" Hitsugaya said returning to the kitchen.

"One of the ladies in this building. She said she was calling on behalf of the landlord's wife," she said returning the receiver to its cradle.

"What did she want?"

Matsumoto shrugged and poured the steaming tea she made into the mugs. "She wants us to meet some of the other couples that live in this building —"

"Why all of a sudden?"

"I don't know. I guess she didn't realize that you were 'married' and well she was calling to see if we had anything pertinent to say about our community…"

"What time?" Hitsugaya asked, blowing on his tea and picking up a slice of toast.

"You mean you actually want to go, taichou? You usually never want to go to these kinds of social events—"

"It can't be helped. We have to blend in with these people in order to gain their trust. If there's one thing I've learned since I've been living here is to never underestimate the power of the network of housewives. They come into contact with all sorts of people and have the latest gossip on virtually everyone within a three to four block radius of this building. What time is this meeting or whatever?"

"They just said to drop by sometime around eight for coffee," Matsumoto said resting her chopsticks on the ceramic piece as she reached for her soup bowl.

"All right, we can use this as an opportunity to find out if there's been any suspicious activity in the neighborhood."

"Do you have any plans for today?"

"I'm going to work for a couple of hours. I'll be walking around town checking out a lead," Hitsugaya said, finishing the last of his rice.

"Do you want me to do anything?"

"Stay here. I might want you to come help me follow up later. I have an informant who's checking up on something for me."

"Shinigami?"

"No, just a human college student. I'll call you after I get off today. You can review my reports so far. They're on the table over there," Hitsugaya said, standing up and sticking his dishes into the sink.

"It's okay. Leave them. I'll clean up later."

"Thanks," he said, disappearing into the bedroom to change. He emerged several minutes later with his hair gelled and wearing a fitted suit with the white shirt unbuttoned past the third button, exposing a triangle of his lean chest. Stuffing his cell phone into his pocket and his wallet into another, he walked out past the kitchen towards the door.

"I'll be off—"

"Have a good—taichou?!" Matsumoto had turned around to see him off and was shocked to see her taichou wearing such unusual clothing. "T-T-Taichou…you're going to move furniture in that?!"

"Of course not," he mumbled irritably as he opened the door. "I'm going to Kabukicho to hand out tissues for a couple of clubs and bars—"

"Tissues?"

"It's a popular form of advertising here—"

"But why are you dressed like that?" Matsumoto said, staring wide-eyed at the nonchalant 10-bantai taichou.

"My informant works at a host club. I guess you could say this is the standard 'uniform'. It pays decently, but the more tissues I give out the more they pay. I'll call later, so don't go out."

Hitsugaya stepped out and shut the door quietly behind him, leaving Matsumoto fanning herself and wondering why she found her taichou so appealing when he wore a suit.

0-0-0-0-0

Matsumoto spent a good part of the day straightening up the apartment and "renovating" the apartment. She watched weird Japanese TV in the afternoon for a bit and did some laundry. She tried on all the clothes and shoes once more and was about to start dinner when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Matsumoto, it's me," said a deep voice quietly.

"Taichou," she said, opening the refrigerator and reaching for a juice box. "What's up?"

"I just got off work."

"I was just about to make dinner. What did your informant say?"

"Never mind the dinner. I got a lead. I can't really talk now," the rumble of the train and the chime announcing its arrival in the background muffling his words slightly.

"Where should I meet you?"

"Can you meet me at the coffee shop right across the soba shop—"

"The one next to the bakery and the 7-11?"

"That one, in about half an hour?"

"All right. Shall I wait outside?"

"Yeah. Don't attract any attention and lock the door when you leave," he said before hanging up.

"Hmm," Matsumoto said to herself, placing the phone back in its cradle. "That's a pretty nice coffee shop, so maybe I better wear something nicer than this…"

Walking to the closet, she quickly changed into a white knee-length billowy skirt and a light pink halter top and three-quarter sleeve matching sweater to go over it. Putting on a bit of perfume and makeup, she ran her fingers through her hair and headed over to the coffee shop.

0-0-0-0-0

Matsumoto had been waiting for 20 minutes outside of the coffee shop with no sign of the 10-bantai taichou. She had actually been five minutes early and was beginning to worry since he was never more than five minutes late. Looking across the street, she verified that she was standing in the right place—soba shop dead ahead and right between the 7-11 convenience store and the bakery. There was no doubt about it; she was in the right place. But where was her taichou? While lost in her thoughts she was tapped on the shoulder.

"Tai—oh who are you?"

"How about it, baby?" said what looked to be a salaryman. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties.

"Can I help you?" Matsumoto said carefully.

"You're looking pretty lonely there, honey," he said, stroking her arm gently.

Matsumoto drew her hand back instinctively.

"What's wrong?" he said, smiling creepily. Matsumoto looked around. It was late afternoon and there were still a lot of people walking around.

"_He said not to draw any attention to myself,_" she thought, clenching her fist. Looking to the left, there were people coming out of the station. To the right, there were people crossing the street at the large intersection.

"I'm actually waiting for someone," she said quickly, putting on a fake smile to hide her disgust.

"Are you really? You've been standing here for over fifteen minutes. I know because I was watching you…"

Matsumoto's skin was crawling and she wanted to hit him, but perhaps her taichou had wanted to meet there for a reason. Beating up a guy for being persistent and weird would make things unfavorable and might drive whoever it was he was looking for away.

"_Damn_," Matsumoto thought. "_No money or means to communicate…what should I do…?_"

"Come on, how about a little kiss—" the man said leaning into her.

"How about not," said a familiar voice, gripping his shoulder tightly and pulling him back with incredible strength.

"Who the hell—wait, it's just a kid," muttered the guy, turning around.

"Sorry for making you wait," Hitsugaya said, ignoring him and walking over to Matsumoto. "I ran into some trouble coming over here."

Matsumoto smiled deviously as she thought of the possibilities and decided to milk the situation for all it was worth as 'payback'.

"Oh, darling, thank goodness you're here," she said, laying the relief and anguish in her voice on thickly as she latched onto his arm. "This creepy dude was all over me!"

"A-A-Are you alright?" Hitsugaya stuttered as he looked into his fukutaichou's wide eyes.

Matsumoto puffed her lip out as if she had been terrified, which he knew she had _not_ been, nodded twice, staring back at him tearfully and leaned even closer into him. He swallowed slowly and followed up with, "Were you waiting long?"

"No, only twenty minutes, but you're never late and I was so worried about you—"

"Sorry I made you worry," he managed to mutter out, blushing furiously at the sudden need to play the role of boyfriend/husband.

"It's okay, I forgive you, hon'," she said stepping in front of him and turning her cheek towards his face expectantly.

Hitsugaya stared at her cheek, paling as he realized what she wanted. When she did not move, he swallowed his pride (swallowing literally), and leaned forward, giving her a brief peck on the cheek. Matsumoto smiled in satisfaction, kissed him on the lips full on, and embraced him tightly.

She turned to the weird guy who had been harassing her and smiled, "I told you I was waiting for someone."

"Wait, she's your woman?!" he cried incredulously. "Aw, come on, baby. You can do better than him—"

"Actually, he's my husband," pointed out Matsumoto a little too cheerfully, leading her taichou towards the door to the coffee shop.

"And if you ever approach her again—" Hitsugaya said quietly as he opened the door for Matsumoto, a spike of ice making its way from where the ice captain stood and stopping right at her harasser's feet. Hitsugaya looked back, his eyes filled with a certain mysterious eeriness as an icicle shot up from the ground, nearly piercing through the man's shoes, startling him considerably. "I'll kill you."

The door swung shut as Hitsugaya followed his fukutaichou into the coffee shop and the ice on the ground retreated into nothingness.

0-0-0-0-0

Hitsugaya looked around the coffee shop and found Matsumoto sitting in a booth near the window talking to the waitress. Hitsugaya sat across of her and looked at the menu.

"Iced coffee," he said stoically after looking at the menu for several seconds.

"One iced coffee," repeated the waitress before turning to Matsumoto. "What about you?"

Matsumoto looked up from her menu. "I'll have the cake set."

"Cheesecake, chocolate chiffon, or strawberry shortcake?"

"Strawberry shortcake."

"Would you like coffee or tea with that?"

"Tea, please."

"Hot or iced?"

"Hot."

"Lemon or milk?"

"Milk."

"One iced coffee and a strawberry shortcake-milk tea set. Anything else today?"

"That's it. Thank you," Matsumoto said, handing the menu to the waitress, who bowed and went to fill the order. There were several moments of silence where Hitsugaya stared at the napkin in front of him and Matsumoto stared out the window.

"Taichou," Matsumoto began, breaking the silence. "Thank—"

"Thank you very much for waiting," bowed the waitress as she brought their order to the table. "Iced coffee and strawberry shortcake set. Here's your tea and the milk on the side. Please be careful as it is very hot. Can I get you anything else today?"

"No, thank you."

"Then I apologize for interrupting," she bowed, as she set the bill on the table.

Hitsugaya put one cream and one gum-syrup (liquid sugar for cold drinks) into his coffee and stirred it around with his straw absent-mindedly. Matsumoto dumped several packets of sugar along with most of the milk into her teacup before picking up her fork.

"This looks good. You wanna bite, taichou?" she grinned, holding up a morsel of the yellow cream filled cake.

"No," he said turning away.

"Fine," Matsumoto pouted, sticking the cake into her mouth. "So what's the scoop?"

"Oh, right. My lead says that there's this pretty shady guy that hangs around some of the clubs at night. His name is Hayato, but his friends call him 'Speed'. He likes foreign women and hangs out at some of the hip-hop clubs. Supposedly he's able to feel reiatsu, to what extent, I'm not sure. We have our limiters on and we can take extra precautions to hide our rei—"

Hitsugaya stopped and noticed that Matsumoto was enjoying her cake immensely, licking the cream off the prongs of the fork and running her tongue against the back to lap off the bit that transferred when she cut a piece of the cake. Stabbing a piece of strawberry, she sort of sucked it off the fork before sweeping the frosting off her lip.

"M-Matsumoto, were you listening to a word I said?" he stammered.

"Sure, Hayato…Speed, likes foreign women and hip-hop clubs," she said, licking the whipped cream off the whole strawberry that she had saved from the top of the cake slowly as she savored the cream that had been kissed with the sweetness of the strawberry before biting into the ripe fruit itself. Matsumoto looked up, now that he had stopped talking and saw him staring back at her…hungrily?

"You want some?" she asked confusedly, offering him part of the strawberry.

"No, I'm fine," Hitsugaya said, taking a sip of his coffee to cool himself down. "Anyway, let's just go straight to the club tonight. I think it's called 'Midas' or something—"

"Taichou, what makes him a likely person to be targeted by Aizen?" Matsumoto asked, stirring her tea once before placing the spoon on her saucer quietly.

"I don't know, but my informant spotted him talking with some 'beings that didn't look so human' were his words. I think that rather than Aizen or Ichimaru directly, he might have had contact with the Arrancar or the Espada. In any case, we need to find out more about this person."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"Oh yeah," Hitsugaya said, pulling a cell phone identical to his out of his pocket and placing it on the table in front of Matsumoto. "I got you a cell phone in case we need to contact each other."

"Really?" asked Matsumoto picking it up with excitement.

"Yeah."

"Thank you, darling," she said, leaning over to caress his cheek and kiss him on the forehead.

Hitsugaya said nothing as he turned bright red all the way to his ears.

0-0-0-0-0

_Later that night at the club…_

By the time the 10-bantai 'couple' had arrived, it was nearly midnight and the party was already in full swing at the club. Matsumoto had called to reschedule the after dinner coffee plans for dinner the following Sunday and opted for a nice quiet dinner with her taichou which was followed by their inability to find the club. They had spent a good hour looking for the club and luckily the club did not open until eleven so they had not missed much.

Hitsugaya paid the cover and they were given tickets for two drinks each, which he gave to Matsumoto to hold onto. When they entered the club, Hitsugaya was surprised by the atmosphere, which was mostly dark and smoke-filled with a couple of strobe lights and colored spotlights and filled with half naked foreign women grinding against each other to the loud music. Matsumoto had disappeared and had suddenly reappeared with drinks for them.

"Which one do you want?" Matsumoto shouted, as they sat down at one of the booths. "Coke and Rum or Moscow Mule?"

Hitsugaya wrinkled his nose at the smoke and simply pointed at the darker one.

"Okay, you can have the Coke and Rum," she said, handing it to him and raising her glass to him. "To you, taichou."

Hitsugaya was thirsty, having had salty food for dinner, so he took a giant sip of his drink. What he was not expecting was the drink to be so strong. It was not Coke and Rum; it was more like Coke-_flavored_ rum. It was not bad, just stronger than he would have preferred. Matsumoto had somehow already finished half of her drink.

"Taichou," she said standing up and taking off her jacket. "Watch my drink."

"Where are you going?!" he asked bewildered.

"To find out if our man, Speed is here," she said winking, stepping out of the booth and onto the dance floor.

Hitsugaya watched as Matsumoto wiggled through the crowd, half dancing with the other party animals, until she made her way over to the VIP seating. Raising one eyebrow as he downed more of his drink, he watched as she chatted up the guy standing at the entrance of VIP, drawing little circles on his chest as she whispered into his ear. The guy smiled and whispered something back to her. Matsumoto took a piece of paper out of her pocket and wrote something down before handing it to him. Then she slowly made her way back to the booth at which Hitsugaya was sitting.

"Taichou—" she said, sinking into the chair next to him. "I found out about Speed."

"You did?! How?"

"I just talked to the guy in VIP."

"I could see that, what did you tell him?"

"I promised him my number if he told me about Speed."

"You gave him your number?"

"No, I made one up."

Hitsugaya sighed and took another sip of his drink. "Well, what did he say? Is Speed here?"

"He said that Speed always comes to VIP but he got arrested a couple of days ago, so he doesn't think that he'll be coming around anytime soon."

"What happened?"

"Assaulting a police officer. So at least a month of being detained because apparently he's a repeat offender."

"Damn, well, I guess we should go then," Hitsugaya sighed once more, standing up. "And we came all the way out here too. But now that Speed isn't here, then it makes no sense for us to be here—"

"Oh, what's the rush," Matsumoto purred. "We're already in, so why don't we _stay awhile_…?"

0-0-0-0-0

Hitsugaya woke up the next morning with a hangover. He thanked his lucky stars that amazingly he had all his clothes on and Matsumoto had all her clothes on. That sense of relief did not last long for when he sat up, his stomach lurched, and he knew he had to rush to the bathroom. He leaped over Matsumoto's corpse-like figure and ran to the bathroom with his hand over his mouth, praying that he would make it.

"_I'm turning into an alcoholic_," he thought miserably as he flushed the contents of his stomach down the toilet. When there was nothing more in his stomach and he had essentially reached the dry heaving stage, he went to wash his face and put on some coffee. Somewhere between his face washing and the brushing of his teeth, he looked into the mirror and noticed something very peculiar. There were bruises all over his neck, as if someone had tried to strangle him.

"How odd," he mumbled as looked into the mirror closely and found that they were not finger or rope marks but circles lined up across his neck to look like someone had strangled him. Then the events of the club came back to haunt him.

They had been drunk. She had somehow convinced him to follow her to the dance floor. And he went, not exactly against his will. The details were sketchy but he remembered her kissing and sucking his neck as the lights spun and the music reverberated through the club. The sweating, the moaning, her rubbing against him, grinding parts of her own body against him, _touching_ him in some of his most sensitive _areas_…all with their clothes on. He touched his neck and discovered that those marks were bruises made by the mighty power of suction. Oh, the possibilities… Today's lesson: Matsumoto is a suckerfish. Note to self: Do not let her anywhere near places that cannot be easily covered up.

0-0-0-0-0

The next couple of days passed by uneventfully. Hitsugaya mostly miserable, as the days were hot and he was forced to either wear a turtleneck or wear makeup to cover up his neck. Since he refused to wear makeup, he was stuck in clothes that in his opinion made him look short because they covered his neck. The trail had run cold with Speed in jail and Hitsugaya and Matsumoto fell into the routine of him going to work and her taking care of the apartment during the day while working on the reports that were piling up on his desk.

After that, they kept to themselves until the night of the dinner that they had rescheduled, when they were forced to try to look 'normal' and put on a performance that would win their neighbors' trust so that they could see if they could find out anything that might pertain to the Aizen case.

They appeared at the landlord's apartment for dinner at six with Hitsugaya in a suit, not the one he handed out tissues in, but a normal black one, buttoned up all the way with a tie and Matsumoto at his side in a conservative lavender dress cinched at the waist with a large ribbon sash in the back.

"They're here!" announced his wife, welcoming the young couple into the largest apartment in the complex.

"We brought dessert!" said Matsumoto, holding up a box of cream puffs from the local bakery.

"Please come in."

Matsumoto strutted in and Hitsugaya followed her quietly as their host escorted them into the elegantly set dining table where some of the other couples were already seated and having some champagne.

"I'll introduce you to everyone. Hagi Seiji and Kyouko, Ogawa Shou and Akie, Takada Hirofumi and Tomoka, Minamoto Jouji and Hanae, Morioka Naojirou and Yuri, Wakabayashi You and Reina, Shimizu Kai and Mari, Fujitani Ken and Ai, Miki Makoto and Aya, my husband, Baba Kouji and I am Baba Kikue."

"Hitsugaya Toushirou—" began Hitsugaya.

"And his wife, Rangiku," interrupted Matsumoto, bowing deeply.

"Pleased to meet you," they said bowing in unison, both thanking the hours of Gotei 13 practices they had to sit through whenever there was a new taichou or fukutaichou initiated just so that they would be able to bow in unison during ceremonies.

"Amazing," whispered several of the wives.

"He's so cute…"

"She's so pretty…"

"Please, have a seat," Kikue gestured, and dinner (1,001 questions) commenced.

Hitsugaya noticed that half of the couples were young and most likely in their late twenties or early thirties by human standards, while the other half looked to be in their late forties or early fifties. They on the other hand, looked like a teenage couple that got married because the girlfriend got pregnant.

"So, I think what everyone is dying to know is, how old are the two of you?"

"Tomoka! That's so rude to ask as a first question!"

"Well, you wanted to know too, Hanae!"

"It's alright," said Matsumoto graciously. "Right, hon'?"

"I'm 21," Hitsugaya said, repeating the information off of his identification card while he was in the Material World on this mission.

"I'm 27," Matsumoto stated, also repeating the information on her identification card.

"You both are so young," commented one of the ladies wistfully. "Especially you, Toushirou-san, you look like you should still be studying."

"What is it that you do, Toushirou-kun?" asked one of the husbands.

"Do you work at a company?" asked another. "I mean, if you're 21, shouldn't you still be in college?"

"I've already finished my schooling abroad," Hitsugaya said quietly. "I actually have been done for some time. I work for a private organization that is mainly concerned with security and part of my job is to work part time jobs and find out things about the public."

"Oh, you mean like consumer satisfaction or something?" offered Hanae.

"Something like that," Hitsugaya said, taking a bite of the salad on his plate. "Well, it's difficult to explain, but to make a long story short, my wife and I are only half Japanese. We were born and raised abroad."

"Did you go to school together?"

"No."

"Where did you meet each other then?"

"Work," they both responded.

"Work? Did you work in the same department?"

"You could say that," offered Matsumoto.

"Is Toushirou your boss?"

"Yes," Matsumoto replied.

"But she was already the second highest ranking officer in the department when I become her boss," pointed out Hitsugaya, saving her from certain uncomfortable questioning about the promotion practices of their 'organization'.

"So tell me, how does someone who is younger than you rise to a ranking that is higher than you?" asked one of the husbands curiously.

"Simple," answered Matsumoto, wiping the corner of her mouth with a napkin, pretending not to be offended by the bluntness of the question and at the same time not liking some of these husbands one bit. "He's a genius and child prodigy."

"A genius? Are you serious?"

"Certainly. Hitsugaya Toushirou is very famous where we are from for being the youngest member in many years to rise to a high-ranking position within the organization in a very short period of time. He has what would be considered here to be the equivalent of having done several PhDs. Being a child prodigy, he is far more qualified that most people who are double or triple his age. And being in a position like mine does not guarantee that you will be able to attain a position like his. Being second in command means nothing if you lack certain skills and qualifications that are required for advancing to first in command of the department."

"Isn't that something?" commented the woman at the end of the table. "A young couple with a genius for a husband and a bombshell for a wife. You two are the epitome of every young person's dream, aren't you?"

"Hardly, though we are flattered that you think of us in that way," Matsumoto responded genially. "But we are just a normal couple."

The rest of dinner went smoother and was more about idle chitchat than 1,001 questions to fire at the new couple. After dinner, the women retired to the living room for coffee and the men to the study for drinks.

"So, Hitsugaya-san—"

"Oh, please, call me 'Rangiku'," Matsumoto smiled while thinking, "_Because we're not actually married and 'Hitsugaya-san' is 10-bantai taichou, Hitsugaya Toushirou, not synonymous with Matsumoto Rangiku…_"

"Okay, Rangiku-san, we've all been wondering ever since dinner and the clean up…"

"Yes…?"

"Where is your wedding ring?"

"My wha—"

"You know, you're wedding ring?" they asked all holding up their left hands to sport their lovely rocks.

"Oh, um my ring…my ring, um," Matsumoto said slowly, placing her hand to the side of her face, scratching her temple with her index finger as she tried to stall while she thought of an excuse. "Well, you see, it's…"

"It's right here," Hitsugaya said, slipping something onto her ring finger gently. "She just forgot it when she was washing the dishes before we came here."

Hitsugaya stepped away and left Matsumoto and her admirers to themselves. Matsumoto, in shock, stared at the ring, seeing it for the first time herself. It was a simple white gold band with a very nice diamond that looked to be at least two carats set in it.

One of the ladies grabbed her hand, "Wow, that is a very nice ring, I must say."

"Ooh, let me see it too!"

"Absolutely gorgeous!"

"God, Toushirou-san must be some find, huh?"

"He sure is," Matsumoto whispered quietly.

Later, Matsumoto noticed Hitsugaya standing outside their host's balcony, staring at the city below, when the curtain flipped to the side for a moment as the cool autumn breeze blew through. Excusing herself from the conversation, she walked out to join him grabbing two glasses of punch on her way there.

"Taichou," she said, handing him a glass and closing the sliding door behind him.

"Thanks," he mumbled as he watched Matsumoto sit in the middle of the reclining chair.

They each took a sip before Matsumoto placed the cup down on the table next to the chair.

"Taichou," Matsumoto said, taking the ring off and handing it back to him. "I can't accept this…"

"Take it," he said, waving it off as he took another sip of the fruity beverage had a strong bite from the alcohol, turning around to stare off into the clear night sky.

"You didn't have to; I could have made up an excuse…"

"It'll make our relationship seem more believable."

"Oh, I think it's pretty convincing as is, don't you?" she said crossing one leg over the other and flipping her hair casually. "Don't tell me you're underestimating the charm and skill of your fukutaichou!"

"Matsumoto," the white haired taichou began seriously.

"I trust you with my life and I want you to be more than my fukutaichou…the truth is, I bought it because I was jealous and didn't want other people thinking that you were available," he admitted shyly, turning to face his taller fukutaichou, while trying to maintain his dignity as a man as much as possible.

He downed the last of his drink and set the empty cup on the table before sitting down next to her and choking out a shaky, "I-I-It's not a marriage proposal, and this is not an order from me as your taichou. B-But I'm asking you as a person and I know it sounds mushy and cliché, but…will you be my…mine?"

"Taichou," Matsumoto began, floored at the transparency of her normally emotionless taichou. "My past is not something that I am proud of—in fact, to be honest, it's something that has held me back from well, anything serious. I've learned to live with it, but I don't want you to be subjected—"

Matsumoto found herself being pushed into the reclining chair with Hitsugaya, maybe having had a little too much to drink at dinner, supporting himself over her supine body.

"Matsumoto, do you trust me?" he asked, staring down at her.

"Of course, taichou," she whispered back.

"Then let me…" he trailed off before leaning down and pressing his lips firmly against hers for a kiss that she all too willingly reciprocated with passion and fervor.

0-0-0-0-0

_To be continued…0.o_

_0-0-0-0-0_

_Yumichika: (fanning himself wildly) Ah, my heart feels like it's about to explode. Ah, young love!_

_Shuuhei: What the hell are you doing?_

_Yumichika: Reading the latest chapter of __Chrysanthemums & Peaches__, what else?!_

_Shuuhei: Not that mushy stuff again!_

_Yumichika: Shuuhei, you are just as bad as Ichigo and Renji—testosterone driven fighting machines with no appreciation for sap!_

_Ichigo: Oi, don't go lumping me with that brash tattoo eyebrows weirdo!_

_Renji: They are not weird! They…are stylistic!_

_Ichigo: Stylistic, my ass. You're just as vain as Yumichika if those things are 'stylistic'._

_Yumichika: How rude! How dare you put me in the same category as Renji!_

_Kenpachi: I heard Kurosaki Ichigo!_

_Yumichika: (Indignantly) Speaking of Neanderthals with no appreciation for anything artistic…._

_Ichigo: Shit, it's Zaraki Kenpachi…I bet he's itching for a fight! I better make like a banana and split. Damn you, Renji! See, your gayness is rubbing off on me!_

_Renji: Who are you calling gay?! The only fruitcake in the room here is Yumichika!_

_Ichigo: Whatever! I'm leaving before Kenpachi realizes I'm here._

_Kenpachi: Where is he?!_

_Yumichika: Who?_

_Kenpachi: Kurosaki Ichigo!_

_Yumichika: He left. (Kenpachi wilts visibly, bells and all.)_

_Kenpachi: Dammit. What the hell were you doing, Yumichika?!_

_Yumichika: Nothing, taichou! Stay tuned for another exciting chapter, people!_

_0-0-0-0-0_

How was it? Bad? Stupid? OOC? I think this is my favorite story right now though. HitsuMatsu forever!!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: KTNM

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches: Chapter 13**

It was fairly obvious that the 10-bantai taichou was rather inexperienced when it came to matters of lust as his mouth, tongue, and hands seemed to fumble awkwardly in the dim lighting outside on their host's veranda. Up until now, he had mostly been on the receiving end of Matsumoto's frustratingly playful and suggestive body contact. It appeared that unlike when he was in the company of Hinamori, Matsumoto seemed to awaken certain urges within him that he had not been aware of previously. Every inch of his body felt like it was burning and aching with the need to touch some part of his fukutaichou. Hitsugaya felt something intense flowing through every vein of his body, something that seemed to pool in his eyes making the famous emerald orbs almost glow as they darkened and took on a glassy look. Matsumoto felt his reiatsu rise, the pressure making her skin tingle. Fortunately for the young taichou, his fukutaichou took great pleasure in teaching through demonstration the finer points of maximizing lust-induced pleasure.

It was around this point that Matusmoto noticed that her taichou had grown taller—or rather his body had gotten longer—even though his face did not really look any different. With their legs sort of intertwined and him leaning slightly on her, she noticed that only months earlier, he barely made it up to her chest, but now, he was _definitely_ taller. She was pondering how she managed to miss this ever so crucial detail as she slid her tongue past his and sort of shoved it down his throat. Things were getting rather heated as she took one of his calloused hands and forced his palm under her bust, closing her hand over his so as to allow him to experience the softness and fullness of Kiki (officially known as the left breast).

Matsumoto may have been dressed conservatively, but that did not prevent her taichou from appreciating her god-given assets through the deceivingly thin material. With a bit of encouragement he made a feeble attempt at fondling it before making his way down her jaw towards the back of her ear, an inch below the lobe of which he discovered an extremely sensitive area that made Matsumoto gasp suddenly in surprise. She felt the corners of his mouth turn up into a familiar smirk as he sucked gently on that area once more.

"…tsugaya-san….itsugaya-san, Hitsugaya-san?"

Hitsugaya stopped what he was doing and saw the silhouette of one of the wives through the curtain walk past the screen door. Matsumoto tried to recapture her taichou's attention with another needy kiss to his neck, but to no avail.

"Looks like we've been missed," he whispered into her ear, before pushing himself up against the armrests of the lawn furniture piece. He ran his fingers through his tousled hair, which Matsumoto had been so kind to flatten sometime during their moment of passion. He smoothed out his suit, adjusted his tie, and walked towards the sliding door.

"Hitsu—oh, there you are," said a soft feminine voice.

"I'm sorry to have caused you to worry. I was feeling a little flushed, perhaps from the alcohol and needed some fresh air," he explained.

"Not at all, Hitsugaya-san. The men, they were just wondering where you were…"

"Of course…"

The footsteps gradually faded and Matsumoto was left on the chair, outside on the veranda, the cool evening autumn breeze stirring the loose strands of her bangs slightly and soothing her flushed skin nicely as she became lost in her thoughts.

About an hour later, Matsumoto wandered back into the house and walked towards the teapot that was sitting on top of the table in the living room pouring herself a cup of the warm English tea. She turned the corner and found the wives chatting and playing cards in the kitchen with tired and bored looks about their faces.

"Oh, Rangiku-san, where have you been?" asked the landlord's wife, looking up from her hand.

"Oh, I was just out on your veranda. I must say, you do have a lovely view," Matsumoto smiled. "Have you seen my husband?"

"Over there with ours…" one said, rolling her eyes.

"What's the matter?"

"You know how men can be," started another.

"Yeah," chimed one of the younger wives. "It's turned into another long, drawn out debate over some social problem the country faces…"

"More like another stupid attempt at proving the old I'm smarter than you and you don't know what you're talking about."

"They've organized themselves into two groups—talking about the income gap and the growing disparity between the rich and the poor, but neither will budge until the other concedes."

"It's divided, five to five and of course your husband, the newcomer to the conversation, was reeled in to break the tie."

"He hasn't said anything yet. Both sides have been arguing over brandy for the past hour."

"I think they're just trying to go for a six to five rather than bringing down the other side."

"We're bored and our husbands refuse to let us leave…"

"So, we're just playing cards."

"Sometimes these debates go on well into the next morning, so we usually have breakfast here too."

"I see," said Matsumoto, sipping her tea, which had now run lukewarm. "Well, I better go check on him."

"Why?"

"Oh, because my taich—I mean, my husband—is very shy and doesn't like to say much. He might be feeling a bit awkward. Please excuse me."

Matsumoto set her teacup on the countertop and walked into the next room to discover her serious faced taichou with the same face as the time when a trainee in dispatch with dyslexia had gotten the coordinates off and instead of sending him to take care of some hollows, the trainee had dispatched her taichou to some Material World area with people dressed up as animals and many little children running around what looked to be like an amusement park of some sort. She had been sent to retrieve him and found he had not been amused in the least.

The 10-bantai taichou sat at the edge of the group with his legs crossed on a seat that had been pulled up to the furniture set from the dining table. He frowned slightly as he crossed his arms also in irritation.

"Taich—I mean, darling," Matsumoto said waving, making her way over to him as she also greeted his companions graciously. "Hello, boys."

"Oh, hello, Rangiku-san," they mumbled in unison.

"I'm sorry to ruin your fun, darling," Matsumoto said as sadly as she could manage. "But, you've got an early start and—I hope you all understand…"

"Oh, but we didn't get to hear Toushirou's opinion on the disparity between the rich and the poor—"

"I'm sure it can wait until next time—"

"Yeah, yeah. Toushirou, surely you aren't gonna side with those communists—"

"Communists?" repeated the white haired prodigy with one eyebrow raised. "_These people honestly don't know what they're talking about do they?_"

"It's just to make a point. Anyway, we've gotta protect the blue-collared worker. With unions having less bargaining power against cheap outsourced labor—"

"Never mind the outsourced labor. The fact of the matter is that income inequality is real, even when it's a difference between the high school grad and the college grad and their earning poten—"

"But you know what they say, a rising tide raises all boats. Who cares about the gap, as long as we're all living better, right? If we're _all_ living better, then that in itself is equality, right? Besides, poor people should be thinking about the fact that they're living better than the rich of 100 years ago, not their standard of living in comparison to that of some oil or software tycoon."

"We better go," smiled Matsumoto, guiding her irritated taichou towards the door before he blew a fuse.

"Toushirou, what do you think?"

"Man, I bet you young guys never think about important stuff like this…"

For Hitsugaya, whose appearance had always been socially problematic, this sort of jab was the one thing he could never walk away from. His intelligence had been insulted and being looked down upon was something that never failed to stomp on the pride of the emerald-eyed taichou. Clenching his fist and sighing in defeat as he once again conceded to his pride, he stopped in his tracks and offered his new friends a terse response.

"I don't know what communists or unions have to do with the growing disparity, but if we are ignoring relative wealth, then is living in a world where your annual income is 15 million yen, but everyone else's is 30 million yen really the same as living in a world where you make 10 million yen, but everyone else makes only 7 million yen? Somehow you guys strike me as the kind of people who would rather live in the second world, making more than everyone else, rather than having a relatively higher salary than the second, but making half as much as everyone else. And you over there, since you seem to think that I have no opinion about social issues, you were arguing the unfairness of the tax system. If your annual income is 1 million yen taxed at 1 percent and my annual income is 100 million yen, but my income is taxed 10 percent; it would mean that you pay 10 _thousand_ yen in taxes and I would pay 10 _million_ yen in taxes. Who's ended up with the short end of the stick? I don't know; but I think that before you go running your mouth over what's fair and unfair, I think you should remember that a person's spending habits and financial obligations tend to influence whether or not they believe that the tax system is unfair or not."

Hitsugaya walked past the landlord's wife in the kitchen, leaving his companions to ponder while he excused himself.

"Baba-san, it was a pleasure. Dinner was fantastic; however, I have an early appointment for tomorrow. Please excuse us for leaving early—"

The older woman, startled that the newcomers were able to wiggle out of the gridlock that normally would precipitate on a night like this, stopped her game of cards.

"N-No, no, the pleasure was all ours. Thank you for coming."

"We enjoyed ourselves immensely. Thank you," Matsumoto bowed. "We'll just show ourselves out. Thank you."

"Excuse us. We apologize for interrupting."

All was quiet in the room next door as the men pondered the young boy's statement. For once it looked as though the wives could go home without spending until five in the morning waiting for resolution to this debate.

0-0-0-0-0

September would be coming to a close in several days and the 10-bantai taichou and his fukutaichou found themselves extremely busy—she following up on leads that he had uncovered while talking to some of the wives at the dinner party, and he trying to plan a romantic birthday evening for his fukutaichou in between his end of the month duties. Hitsugaya had initially been worried that Matsumoto would discover his plans before the big day, but all that worry flew out the window now that his fukutaichou had found a lead that looked as though it would keep his fukutaichou quite occupied for large chucks of time over the next couple of days.

_Thursday, September 27…_

"Matsumoto, how goes the investigation?" he asked, setting his chopsticks down for a moment as he reached for his teacup.

"Well, two of the leads turned out to lead nowhere, but during my follow-up, I got wind that one of Speed's friends was trying to help him make bail and I thought I might go see how that is going. Also, I was going to go talk to Ichigo to see if they have observed anything important or breaking in this whole arrancar situation. I think I may be gone most of the day."

"Good work."

"What about you, taichou?"

"Me? I'm…I've got a teleconference with several shinigami this morning…" he trailed off.

"Oh? No work today?"

"Today? No…it's nearing the end of the month, so I usually don't work so much. I've got some bantai related reports to write and stuff and quarterly evaluations are coming up…"

"I see…"

"It'll probably take me several days to finish, especially since everything's back in the Soul Society. I'm having our 3-seki send some stuff through Urahara, which I'll go and pick up either today or tomorrow…"

An awkward silence filled the air for several moments before a cheerful ring tone broke the uneasiness. Matsumoto stood up and walked over to the counter to pick up her cell phone.

"Hello, this is Matsumoto…" she said, bringing her plate to the sink. "Mm hm? Okay…they've released him this morning? Where is he? Okay. I'll be there in half an hour."

"What's up?" asked Hitsugaya coming up next to her and bringing his dishes to the sink.

"Speed made bail."

"Go, before he gets away. I'll clean up here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, turning around to put the leftover food into the refrigerator. "Have a good day."

"Thanks," Matsumoto said, kissing him lightly on the cheek from behind before dashing out the door. "I'm off, see you later!"

0-0-0-0-0

After the kitchen was cleaned up, Hitsugaya walked into the living room and stood in front of what looked to be like a normal plaster wall of an apartment. As soon as he placed his hand on the wall in front of him briefly, a large screen materialized on the wall along with what looked to be a control panel with many flashing lights and buttons.

"Please state your name," a mechanical voice started.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou," he stated as a thin red laser beam shot out from the side and appeared to scan his body for several moments.

"Identity confirmed. Thank you. Welcome back, Hitsugaya-taichou. You have one pending call."

"Send it through."

"Good morning, Hitsugaya-taichou!" chirped Yumichika, waving excitedly from the screen.

"'Morning, Ayasegawa."

"What do I owe the pleasure of this 'emergency'?"

"Yumi! Get out of my room!" shouted an angry voice.

"But, Ikkaku—" Yumichika protested, turning around.

"Why the hell are you here?!"

"Because I need to use your monitor for our teleconference!"

"You've got one in your room!"

"But mine's broken! Let me use yours, Ikkaku! Please?!"

"No, I'm trying to sleep here!"

"Ikkaku, you've been sleeping since yesterday and besides, you're supposed to be down there training those new guys!"

"Well, what are you doing?"

"I was filing—but then I got an urgent message from Hitsugaya-taichou and—"

"Yo, Hitsugaya-taichou!" called Ikkaku, rolling over lazily to greet the 10-bantai taichou.

"Madarame."

"You need someone to do some hollow ass-kicking—"

"I'm sure that's not the reason why he called, Ikkaku," Yumichika interrupted. "What appears to be the issue, Hitsugaya-taichou?"

"Well," Hitsugaya muttered, looking away from the screen. "There's this friend I have…"

"A friend?" asked Yumichika curiously.

"Yeah, he wants to plan a romantic evening…" he trailed off as his cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

"Oh, Hitsugaya-taichou's got a girlfriend!" Ikkaku commented as he stretched before rolling out of bed.

"I do not!" Hitsugaya retorted defensively. "It's a friend…"

"Of course," Yumichika responded, ignoring Ikkaku. "So what does this friend of yours want to do for his significant other?"

"Well, he wants to buy her something—"

"Oh, is it her birthday or something?"

"Kinda…"

"What do you mean, 'kinda'?"

"Well, it's almost her birthday and---"

"DAMN YOU, IKKAKU!" interrupted a booming voice, as it crashed full force into the 3-seki's wall.

"Oh, good morning, Zaraki-taichou," greeted Yumichika, when the dust cleared.

"Ikkaku! Where the hell have you been?!" demanded the formidable 11-bantai taichou, grabbing Ikkaku by the collar and breathing into his face.

"Sleeping of course," filled in Yumichika.

"What?!" shouted Ikkaku to Yumichika, ignoring the fact that he was suspended about a foot and a half in the air. "What about you, Yumi?"

"I, got the taichou's permission to leave—"

"Ikkaku!" roared Kenpachi. "Get yer ass down there and train those newbies! Oh—what's that boy doin' on that screen over there?"

"Hitsugaya-taichou has a love emergency," said Yumichika, clasping his hands together and generating floating hearts around his face.

"Love?!" spat Kenpachi as if it would burn his tongue should he linger on it too long.

"He wants to woo her with a romantic birthday dinner," explained Yumichika, much to the embarrassment of the 10-bantai taichou.

"Oh, just get 'er a bottle of high quality sake—"

"No, that's sooo not romantic, taichou!" argued Yumichika. "You're supposed to get flowers and chocolate—"

"He said birthday dinner, Yumi!" interrupted Ikkaku. "It ain't Valentine's Day we're talking about here—"

"I beg to differ," Yumichika sniffed. "Women like flowers and chocolates anytime of the year. It's very romantic to receive a bouquet flowers from your significant other—"

"Romantic?! What's so goddamn romantic about flowers and chocolate?!" growled Kenpachi. "The flowers whither and ya just eat the chocolate—"

"So, what makes sake any better?" demanded Ikkaku. "I say buy her jewelry. Women always love jewelry—"

"High quality alcohol is always a good idea," interjected Kenpachi authoritatively. "It puts ya in the right mood and besides, ya may as well get 'er something she likes. This _is_ his fukutaichou, we're talking about right?"

"What?!" shouted all three other members of the conversation.

"Who said anything about it being for Rangiku-chan?" asked Yumichika.

"Ain't it obvious?" Kenpachi retorted back, as if they were all asking the obvious of him, as he stepped through the hole in the wall he had made. "Her birthday's at the end of the month and he spends all his time with her, who else would it be for, you retarded bastards?! Ikkaku, you better get your ass down there ASAP!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," grumbled Ikkaku, grabbing his zanpakutou as he followed his taichou out the hole in the wall.

"Now, there goes one of nature's biggest mysteries," commented Yumichika as he turned around to face his teleconference companion. "I guess even he has his moments. So back to your love issue…Hitsugaya-taichou? Hitsugaya-taichou? He hung up on me…"

0-0-0-0-0

Project Consult Love Expert Yumichika was an utter failure. Hitsugaya was back at square one with no idea as to how to plan a romantic evening for Matsumoto and himself. Okay, maybe he was not at a complete loss, he had to admit, 11-bantai was not a completely cold-hearted blood-thirsty combat unit. It appeared that they did know how to treat and take care of their women. He had wandered out of the apartment and was currently standing on the main strip where many of the department stores were located.

"_Okay, let's think logically here. What did they say that girls like…? Chocolate—no, that's no good. Flowers! Yeah, flowers sound like a good start. Now where's that florist…?"_

Hitsugaya began wandering down the right side of the road. He was sure he had seen a flower shop on one of the side streets and sure enough, he spotted something on the corner of the block.

YAMAZAKI HANA-YA

"Welcome," greeted a young man wearing an apron, snipping the ends off of some flowers. "How may I help you, sir?"

Hitsugaya looked around. There were at least 50 different kinds of flowers in various pots and urns. He was sure there had not been this many varieties of flowers the last time he bought flowers in the Soul Society. But, this was the Material World, so he shrugged and approached the counter.

"I need something for my…girlfriend," he sighed, clearly overwhelmed by the selection presented before him.

"What's the occasion? Anniversary?"

"It's her birthday."

"How adorable. Is her birthday today?"

"Huh? No, it's the 29th."

"Okay, what were you thinking?"

"Um…well, what do you recommend?"

"Well, we have all sorts of different sizes and colors to suit any taste. Do you have a preference or a price range?"

"Well, I'm trying to plan a romantic dinner—"

"ROMANTIC DINNER? How exciting!"

"And well, I'm not too sure how to best go about it—"

"Allow me to assist you…"

"Hitsugaya."

"Hitsugaya-san. What's your budget like?"

"Money is no object—"

"How wonderful it must be to have a young rich boyfriend!" commented the florist. "If only you were older and taller….But, getting back to you…how about some red long-stemmed roses? Always classy and romantic. Top of the line of course. Are you going to give them to her in a bouquet or would you like them sent in a vase or something?"

"Have them sent to our apartment. What else do the women of today like?"

"Well, might I suggest…" the florist pulled out a thick binder and began flipping through the pages. "Let me hook you up with my friends at…."

0-0-0-0-0

Hitsugaya arrived back at the apartment a little after 9 that night carrying four large cardboard boxes.

"I'm home," he said setting the boxes down near the door.

"Taichou, where have you been?" asked Matsumoto worriedly, turning around from the television.

"Out. I had some stuff to take care of and I stopped by Urahara's to get the reports and information I requested on my way back. That stupid shopkeeper! He was telling me about everything under the sun. I bet Yoruichi is out of town again. He needs to get himself another cat," he grumbled grouchily.

"You must be tired. Do you want to take a shower first while I get everything on the table?"

"No, I'll help you," he said, walking over to the sink to wash his hands. "So did you find out anything about Speed?"

"Yeah, I went to the club and talked to him," replied Matsumoto as she brought the food to the table.

"What did he say?" asked Hitsugaya serving the rice and soup. "Oh, sashimi today. What's the occasion?"

"Just because—"

"But you hate touching fish—"

"I know, but you like fish, right?" she said kissing him on the cheek before sitting down.

"Do you want something from me?" he asked cautiously, suddenly wary of the reason for serving him one of his favorite foods.

"No," Matsumoto said picking up her bowl of rice.

"Did you do something?"

"No," Matsumoto laughed at her taichou's disbelief that she could do something nice without wanting something in return.

"What?"

"There's no ulterior motive behind the raw fish, taichou," she smiled, as she placed a small mound of white sticky rice into her mouth.

Hitsugaya cocked one eyebrow as he continued to eat cautiously.

"_This is too funny_," thought Matsumoto, as she ate one of the pickled vegetables on the side of her plate. "_Just because I won't touch fish on a normal basis, doesn't mean I won't eat it or prepare it once in a while…."_

"Thank you," he mumbled.

"Hm?"

"I said, thank you," he mumbled slightly louder. "I don't know why and I'm not going to ask why, but thank you. I—I'm sorry, I don't know how to—"

"You're welcome, taichou," Matsumoto smiled cheerfully. "_I should do these kinds of things more often. Seems like he's not used to people doing nice things for him…Jeez, Hinamori-chan must have really done a number on him. I guess I wasn't exactly the most helpful or available fukutaichou either. He must think that all women are selfish beings, but then again, he never really asks for anything…he just kinda does everything…he takes care of everything—he's a good provider…"_

"What's wrong, Matsumoto?"

"_Highly reliable, strong, brave, protective, kind-hearted…young, intelligent…he's the real deal, Rangiku! What are you waiting for?! Give your heart to this man. Unlike the losers and abusive men you've had in the past, he's not going to take advantage of you…Isn't it about time you start living for yourself?"_

"Matsumoto, are you alright?"

"Ah, ha ha, taichou, sorry to have spaced out on you there…Did you say something?"

"I asked what about Speed?"

"Oh. Um, well, Speed isn't talking. He's definitely hiding something. I don't think he knows anything about Aizen, but he might know something about the Arrancar. So after I talked to him, I got out of my gigai and followed him from a distance."

"Did he do anything suspicious?" asked Hitsugaya dipping the last slice of the ruby red raw fish into his soy sauce.

"Well, I think someone else might be following him. He seemed pretty jumpy when I was talking to him."

"You think the arrancar might come back and kill him?"

"I don't think so. I think maybe one of his street enemies might be after him," Matsumoto replied, as she began to clear the table.

"What makes you say that?" followed Hitsugaya, starting the warm water.

"I learned that he's sitting on a mountain of debt that he owes this underground racing gang. Apparently its way past due and the loan sharks are after him. But I don't think they would go so far as to kill him because then they wouldn't get their money…"

"Was he approached by anyone today?"

"No, he went to the bank, then he went back to his apartment, passed out for a couple of hours, ordered a pizza, his lady friend came over, they smoked some stuff and passed out together."

"Did he give any indication that he could see souls?"

"I think he might be vaguely aware of them, but I'm not too sure how much he can really see. I wasn't in his direct line of sight, so I can't be sure. There was a hollow in the area earlier this afternoon, but it didn't seem like he was immediately aware of its existence…"

"Or maybe he's just so used to them, he doesn't react anymore," Hitsugaya muttered as he set the last dish in the rack.

"Could be."

"Hmm…good work, Matsumoto."

"I'll follow him tomorrow and see if he does anything. What about you taichou?" Matsumoto asked as they retired into the living room to the television that had been left on.

"Hm? I'll probably work on those reports and evaluations tonight. Tomorrow, I've got work for a couple of hours and I'll try and at least finish the reports, since I've got another week or so for those evaluations…" he trailed off as he walked towards the bathroom, taking off his shirt in the process.

"Want me to help you?" called Matsumoto, with her eyes glued to the infomercial, not having realized that he had gone to take a shower. "Taichou?"

Matsumoto stood up and took a look around the apartment. Then she heard the sound of the water gushing from the showerhead.

"_I wonder if he remembered to lock the door_," she thought naughtily. Testing the handle, she soon learned the answer to her question. "_Nope…Oops look at this. I spilled water on myself during dinner! Don't want to catch pneumonia. I better go and take a shower right away…"_

Several minutes later in the small bathroom, which had been filled with steam, was Hitsugaya, unaware of the intruder who had managed to infiltrate his personal space. Fortunately, the door had not creaked when a naked Matsumoto snuck in. Looking through the translucent shower curtain, she saw that her taichou was facing the showerhead and proceeded with caution towards the other side of the curtain. Sliding the curtain to the left as she quietly stepped into the shower with the unsuspecting taichou, who seemed to be lost in his thoughts, she embraced him from behind, pressing her bare assets flush against his muscular back.

"Guess who," she whispered seductively into his ear as she nipped lightly at his earlobe and rubbed her hands over his chest before those limbs that suddenly had a mind of their own traveled decidedly southward.

"Matsumoto," he gasped.

"You win the prize...I think those reports can wait until tomorrow," she whispered, pushing his back to the wall opposite the shower curtain and shoving her tongue into the surprised taichou's open mouth.

Hitsugaya groaned into her mouth before breaking contact.

"Okay," he managed hoarsely, succumbing to the attractive fukutaichou's ministrations.

0-0-0-0-0

_To be continued…._

_Yumichika: (blood gushing from his nose) What?! How could you leave me hanging at the juicy part?!_

_Uryuu: (trying vainly to hide his nose bleed) It was the good part too!_

_Ichigo: You guys are sad, man. You guys have no life—OUCH!_

_Rukia: (kicking Ichigo in the head) Ichigo! This is what we've all been waiting for. The turn in the relationship!_

_Yachiru: What is big-boobie doing with shortie?_

_Ikkaku: Nothing! Go play with that hollow! No kiddies allowed!_

_Yachiru: I am not a kiddie, baldie!_

_Ikkaku: Shut up! Don't call me baldie! Damn, that lucky bastard. He gets Matsumoto and the booty._

_Yachiru: Okay, pachinko-head._

_Hitsugaya: Why is my life on public record?_

_Matsumoto: Think of it this way, taichou. You're famous!_

_Hitsugaya: I don't remember ever asking for this kind of fame._

_Matsumoto: (holding up a glossy magazine) Well, according to the latest poll done by the Shinigami Women's Association, we are one of the most popular heterosexual couples in the entire Seireitei. _

_Hitsugaya: (sighing) The Shinigami Women's Association certainly has a lot of time on its hands, doesn't it?_

_Byakuya: What are you all doing?_

_Renji: Oh, Kuchiki-taichou! Are you a fan of "Chrysanthemums & Peaches" too?_

_Byakuya: What? No…I was looking for my younger sister._

_Rukia: Nii-sama? What are you doing here?_

_Byakuya: Did you neglect to remember that there is a family dinner tonight?_

_Rukia: Oh, I am so sorry, Nii-sama! I completely forgot._

_Byakuya: As elite members of society, we must not neglect our duties to the Kuchiki clan…_

_Rukia: My humblest apologies, Nii-sama. It will not happen again._

_Byakuya: Fine. You will go back to the house and I will relieve you of this piece of literary trash._

_Rukia: Yes, Nii-sama. _

_Later in 6-bantai headquarters…._

_Renji: (outside Byakuya's office) Kuchiki-taichou! Are you there?_

_Byakuya: (reading confiscated material intently) Damn you, Mayonaka no Taiyou…This is soo frustratingly addictive…_


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: KTNM.

Author's note: I've had several requests for some HitsuMatsu smut for "Chrysanthemums & Peaches". I am flattered that there are people who continue to follow my story and I was debating for quite some time whether I should change my rating and pass the point of no return. But then, I thought that there might be readers out there who might be offended by mature content. Also, there's the fact that I have no experience writing smut—which is not to say that I do not enjoy reading it. So, for the sake of trying something new, I will make a whole-hearted attempt to write a lemon for this story. But, I will post it separately on my LiveJournal account. That way, those who don't want graphic smex can simply continue reading without interruption. And those who are just as dirty minded as myself, may enjoy some HitsuMatsu booty action. In terms of the story timeline, the end of Chapter 13 is the transition into the lemon and Chapter 14 will of course be the morning after continuing on with the story. Which means, that the lemon will be Chapter 13.5, posted on my LJ account—username, unare(underscore)haineko. Or remove the spaces: http :// unare- haineko. livejournal. com/ 2323. html# cutid1

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches – Chapter 14**

_Friday, September 28…_

RIIIIINNNG RIIIIINNNNNGG

Hitsugaya sat up groggily as he vaguely registered the sound of the phone ringing. Turning around slowly to look around the bedroom, he found that the phone next to the bed was ringing and picked it up.

"Hello?" he croaked. "Hello? _Hello?_"

Hitsugaya shrugged and put the phone back on the receiver.

"Must have been a wrong number," he muttered. "_What time is it?_"

Hitsugaya squinted across the room at the clock on the wall.

_09:56 AM _read the neon green numbers.

"Shit! I gotta be at work in half an hour!" Hitsugaya jumped out of bed in a state of panic, and rushed to take a shower.

He emerged several minutes later, put on his suit, and rushed out the door.

"Matsumoto, I've got work. I'll be home later! I'm off!" he shouted as he slammed the door shut and locked it behind him.

"Mmph, have a good day," she groaned as she pulled the covers over her face.

0-0-0-0-0

The 10-bantai fukutaichou awoke from her slumber several hours later. Slipping on her silky pink robe, which she had daintily picked up off the ground and stifling a yawn, she wandered into the kitchen. Rummaging through the cupboards in autopilot mode, she managed to turn on the coffee and prepare herself a slice of buttered toast. Putting the warm slice of bread into her mouth, she cradled the milk and sugar while holding her mug of roasted caffeine and set them on the table as sat down for breakfast. It was only when she sat down and took a sip of her coffee that something clicked.

"We did it, didn't we?" she said aloud slowly in realization. "We really did it…"

"_Wait, let's go through the list. Was I drunk? No. That's a good start. Was he drunk? Hm…No, he was perfectly sober. Consent on both sides. Good, so far so good. We haven't taken advantage of each other. Though, it's not like we're complete strangers. We know more than each other's name. This is a good sign. Okay…moving on…Where were we? He was in the shower, then I joined him… Then, we continued on the bed—that's good. God bless youth hormones. At least it wasn't in a club or in some stairwell. Rangiku, you're on a roll here. Ooh, and they weren't lying when they said he was a child prodigy. He may be young, but he's a quick learner, he he. And his entire body wasn't all that small—in fact, he was rather well endowed himself contrary to rumor. Yumichika owes me dinner! Whee hee!! I wonder if it would have been better if we weren't in our gigai. No, because then we'd have less control over our reiatsu during our moment of passion. We can't have that spiking all over the place and attracting unwanted attention. Which leaves the final two questions…Do I regret this decision? I don't, but does he?"_

She returned the milk to the refrigerator and the sugar to its place on the countertop absently before leaving her lukewarm coffee for the laundry.

0-0-0-0-0

Hitsugaya came home later that evening to find the apartment had been cleaned from top to bottom.

"I'm home," he called as he removed his shoes at the entrance. "Matsumoto?"

"Oh, taichou, welcome back. How was work?" she replied, as she dried her hands on a dishtowel.

"Fine…um…what happened to the apartment…?"

"I cleaned it!" she said cheerfully, the strain evident in her voice.

"You…cleaned…it…?" he said, walking over to the table, pausing uneasily as if the words were foreign to his tongue.

"Something a matter?"

"Why? It was already pretty clean…"

"I don't know. I just thought I might air out the apartment and well, I must have gotten carried away…" she trailed off.

"Oh," he replied, as he sat down at the table.

They sat down to dinner and neither said a word as they ate. Hitsugaya could feel Matsumoto's eyes on him, but when he looked up, she appeared to be extremely interested in her bowl of rice.

Sighing to himself as he placed a piece of chicken into his mouth, he managed a, "Thanks for cooking."

"You're welcome," she replied, spinning the floating chunks of tofu in her miso soup with the ends of her chopsticks.

Dinner essentially proceeded as if they were trapped with in Tousen's bankai, deafening silence, neither wanting to break the soundless atmosphere aside from the occasional clinking of chopsticks against porcelain. Hitsugaya, after consuming his last bit of rice, set his chopsticks down and looked straight ahead at his unusually demure fukutaichou.

"Um…" he began. "_Damn, that was not a cool silence breaker!_"

Matsumoto looked up and acknowledged his effort by raising an eyebrow.

"About last night…" he started, looking away and blushing slightly at the images that floated to the back of his mind. He took a sip of his tea in hopes that it would make him look less flustered. "I was thinking about it today…"

"_Here it comes…_" Matsumoto thought ruefully.

"And…I think I may have crossed the line as your superior…and I'm…I'm sorry, Matsumoto…" he said, picking up his dishes and taking them to the sink.

"Taichou," she murmured, standing up after him. He looked back at her with guilt-filled eyes.

"Do you regret what we did?"

"…" Hitsugaya said nothing as he turned the faucet on and watched the rushing water splash all over the soiled dishes.

"_Oh my god, he totally regrets it…_" she thought miserably. "_Why can't I ever keep a man? Why is it that all men lose interest in me once they get the sex?"_

"Taichou?" she pressed, as she turned the faucet off and squeezed herself between the sink and the young man before her.

Hitsugaya wriggled out and continued to avoid her gaze.

"Please, taichou," she pleaded, a sob rising to her throat. "Please tell me you're different…"

"Wha—" Hitsugaya started, as he felt his gorgeous fukutaichou caress his jaw, forcing him to look into her eyes.

"Please tell me that—" she said, a tear running down her cheek. "That last night wasn't just…"

"Matsumoto—"

"Taichou, please tell me I mean more to you than a one night stand…" she implored, as she leaned in to stare at him with tear filled eyes, tears that threatened to spill over any second.

"You do," he said, his voice quivering slightly, as he directed his eyes towards the ground.

"Then why do you avoid my gaze like that? Are you embarrassed? Do you not want me anymore? Was the sex bad—"

"No. No! The sex was great—"

"Then what?" she said, crumbling to the floor and sinking to her knees, clenching his shirt. "Yes, I'm insecure, but I have to know…Do you regret it?"

"Matsumoto…" he said, bending down and sweeping her bangs. "I've faced many situations where I felt I should have made a better decision. But you…my only regret is that I have not been able to protect you better…"

The sapphire-eyed fukutaichou pressed her lips firmly against that of her taichou's, relieved of her deepest fears.

"_You truly are the real thing, aren't you?_" she thought as she started undoing his belt and he helped her out of her blouse right on the dining room floor.

0-0-0-0-0

Saturday, September 29… 

Matsumoto knew it was her birthday and that bantai related business always came first, but she was rather hurt when her taichou sent her on this long list of errands instead of giving her at least part of the day off like he sometimes did—pretending of course that there was nothing to do or that he had done everything, she of course knowing full well that the end of the month was always busy. He had always been sweet like that—though he claimed he had 'no memory for such things'. The 10-bantai fukutaichou figured she would be gone until ten that night, meaning that they would not be spending any time whatsoever together. Sighing, she looked at the first thing on that list.

KUCHIKI RUKIA HAS SOME REPORTS FROM KUCHIKI BYAKUYA. RETRIEVE THEM. (N.B. KUROSAKI ICHIGO IS TRAINING AND HIS SISTERS ARE ON A SCHOOL FIELD TRIP. KUROSAKI ISSIN IS VERY LONELY…)

The golden haired beauty groaned. As much as she loved getting out of work, Ichigo's eccentric father was often too much. The last time her taichou had sent her on a similar errand, Ichigo had saved her from hours of mindless prattle from the scruffy doctor. This time, it was only Rukia and Isshin. It was going to be a long day indeed….

0-0-0-0-0

As soon as Matsumoto left, Hitsugaya sighed in relief. He felt a pang of guilt for sending her on those errands on her birthday, but he really wanted her to be out of the apartment so that he could surprise her that evening. Fortunately, Matsumoto had cleaned the apartment the day before so all he had to worry about was the dinner, which he wanted to be perfect. Walking over to the stack of boxes he had brought home from his visit to the former 12-bantai taichou's shop, he moved aside the top box, which indeed had been filled with 10-bantai data and reports, revealing three other boxes.

The first of these two boxes contained a bottle of very expensive champagne the flower shop owner had recommended and that he had tasted himself at the department store the owner's friend worked at. The flower shop owner, who bore a striking resemblance in personality to Yumichika had been kind enough to provide him with connections for nearly every aspect of his evening. Hitsugaya made a mental note to thank the guy the next day for his help.

Hitsugaya unpacked the champagne from its also expensive looking packaging, placed it into the bucket with the cloth napkin, and set the bucket on the counter next to the refrigerator. Next to the champagne crate was another sturdy crate, which he opened to reveal a large exquisite crystal vase and a tablecloth, both of which he placed next to the bucket and the champagne. Shoving the packing rubbish back into the cardboard box along with the crates, he placed the first box on top of the reports.

The next box he opened proved to contain what the florist deemed 'necessary romantic items.' The young taichou had been coerced into buying an elaborate candlestick set, mainly because the florist told him that women associate candlelight with romance, fine china and silverware to serve the meal he would prepare, a classical music CD, a small CD player with which to play said CD, and a new outfit for himself, which turned out to be only a pair of slacks and a nice silk dress shirt. Still, the florist insisted that the prodigy had to have a new outfit for the occasion. He laid out the outfit on the bed comforter and placed the rest of the items on the counter, wondering for a moment why the cost of living was lower in the Material World than in the Soul Society.

The sound of the doorbell ringing interrupted this thought and the 10-bantai taichou wandered to the door. It was the flowers and the food, or rather the ingredients. Figuring he might be busy, he had them both sent to the apartment. One of them must have gotten the delivery time confused as the both arrived at the same time. Hitsugaya signed for them, both having been prepaid, and opened the narrower of the two boxes. He took out the large bouquet of roses that he had ordered along with the sprigs of baby's breath intertwined between the thorn-less stems. Carefully taking apart the surrounding plastic so as to not crush the delicate flowers, he gently snipped the ties and laid them out on the counter. No one would have guessed that the young taichou was actually quite knowledgeable in the subject of ikebana. It had been his grandmother's hobby and he picked up a few things here and there while he was growing up, helping her around the house. While roses were not typically used in the traditional art, it was more about the meditative state that he fell into as he watched the rushing water cascading from the faucet into the sparkling vase. When the vase was filled three-fourths up with water and he arranged the crimson roses and its tiny snow white budding companions before remembering that the food was still in the other box.

Hitsugaya brushed the stray leaves and petals into the box before slicing the other box open cleanly with a razor to verify that the right ingredients had been sent. When he was certain that everything had been shipped, he began sorting the food according to intended use on the table.

0-0-0-0-0

Meanwhile, Matsumoto was having a hell of a time escaping the clutches of Kurosaki Isshin.

"You are really too kind. And as much as I would love to see more pictures of your kids and your private collection of 1,021 embarrassing pictures of your number one son, I really must be on my way—"

"Oh, but can't you stay?" pleaded the bearded doctor, leaching onto her leg. "Surely a fine young lady like yourself is—"

"I have a bunch of other errands that my taichou sent me to take care of—"

"But my children have abandoned me!"

"You have Rukia-chan—"

"She said she's going out tonight!" sobbed Isshin. "And so I can't have my Saturday Night Movie Night with Daddy by myself!"

Over Isshin's whining, the 10-bantai fukutaichou felt her purse vibrate. Sighing, she rummaged through her purse for her cell phone.

"Hello?"

"_Matsumoto, it's me."_

"Taichou, what's up," Matsumoto sighed, as she gathered the reports that Rukia had left on the table for her.

"_What are you doing?"_

"I'm still with Kurosaki Isshin. Apparently Rukia-chan has deserted him today and he's bored out of his mind since it's the weekend."

"OH, WHY DO MY CHILDREN HATE ME SO???!!!!!"

BAM. BAM. BAM.

"_What was that?"_

"That was Isshin-san pounding his head on the table."

"_Whatever. Can you skip to task 6 and find out if those items I ordered from Urahara came in? He said they weren't in when I went last."_

"Yeah, sure," Matsumoto said, walking out of the Kurosaki Clinic. "Want me to pick them up if they came in?"

"_No, they're heavy. Tell that pervert to have them delivered. If he tries to weasel out of it, tell him that if he had just ordered the right ones the first time that we wouldn't be in this situation."_

"Alright."

"_Thanks."_

"Taichou, may I ask—darn, he hung up."

0-0-0-0-0

4:45 PM

"Hello, taichou? I'm at the bank, but they're telling me I need a key for the deposit box…"

"_Sorry. I forgot to tell you I left it on the table in the kitchen. Come get it."_

Click.

"Alright, I'm coming," she said to no one in particular, as she stuffed the cell phone back into her purse.

Matsumoto exhaled, ruffling her bangs as she headed back to the apartment. She could see why her taichou had delegated most of these tasks to her. They were not hard, but they were extremely exhausting and time-consuming. She had only managed to complete a few tasks of the two pages of tasks he had given her.

"I hope he's not expecting me to finish all of these today," she mumbled to herself as she walked back to the apartment.

0-0-0-0-0

Matsumoto had taken her time walking back to the apartment, but it had been unusually hot, so by the time she got back to the apartment, she was sweating and half an hour had passed.

"I'm home," she called as she let herself in. "Taichou, I'm gonna take a shower before I head back out…"

Matsumoto did not bother looking for her taichou, figuring he might be absorbed in one of his reports or he had gone out; she just walked to the shower immediately, feeling rather irritable at how unproductive the day had been.

She treated herself to a long hot bath, figuring most of those tasks could wait since most of the places he had wanted her to go to would be closed by the time she got there, lounging about for an hour in the strawberry bubble bath she had purchased several days earlier. The sapphire-eyed fukutaichou emerged feeling refreshed with her damp towel dried hair sticking slightly to her neck and face.

"_I'm thirsty. I could go for a beer right about now,"_ she thought as she wandered towards the kitchen.

"Taichou—Oh my god…" Matsumoto stared at the kitchen, floored at the attention to detail presented before her eyes. The kitchen had been transformed. The wood table had been covered with a white tablecloth and set with simple china and silverware. The rose bouquet that he had rearranged was set in the middle amongst the candles. The candles themselves appeared to have been lit, then extinguished after several minutes judging from the rivulets of hardened wax that appeared to be frozen in time against the side of the candle. Matsumoto peered curiously into the bucket with a cloth napkin wrapped around that was sitting on the table curiously, discovering a bottle of champagne lolling lazily in a half melted pool of ice water.

Curious to know what was for dinner, she walked over to the stove and found several dishes still warm in their pots and pans on the burners, which had been turned off. She was not familiar with any of the dishes per se, but when she lifted each of the covers, the tantalizing spices invaded her senses causing her to salivate in anticipation. When she replaced the covers, she noticed the CD player and a cookbook next to it. Cueing up the CD, she flipped through the cookbook, which was titled 'BON APETITE MADEMOISELLE: IMPRESSING YOUR DATE THROUGH WESTERN FOOD', as a light melody by a piano and violin duet began slowly.

She walked back to the table and noticed a small velvet covered box sitting on her plate with a cream-colored envelope leaning against the red ribbon. Matsumoto picked up the envelope and pulled out the card.

"Matsumoto," she whispered, reading the hastily scribbled characters. "I'm sorry for sending you out on those errands. I hoped we could have a nice romantic dinner together, but I have been called back to the Soul Society on urgent business. Happy Birthday. I promise I'll make it up to you."

Matsumoto set the card back on the table and turned her attention to the small box. Pulling the ribbon off, she gently lifted the top, the box snapping open to reveal a white gold necklace with a coin sized pendant. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the pendant had something engraved on it. A fully bloomed chrysanthemum on its stem with a lone leaf stood proudly in the center with what looked to be an amazing reproduction of Hyourinmaru swirling around the stem almost as if it were guarding it possessively. When she turned the pendant over, she saw that a message had also been engraved.

"I promise I will protect you no matter what. Hitsugaya Toushirou"

"Thank you," Matsumoto whispered, as she walked over to the bedroom mirror. Staring at the new necklace in her hand, she closed her eyes as she removed her trademark chain around her neck and replaced it with the shiny new one from her taichou.

"That's a very pretty necklace ya have there, Rangiku-chan," commented a low voice.

Matsumoto spun around.

"Who's there?!" she said, dropping the chain and pressing herself against the dresser that Hitsugaya had purchased the other day.

"Don't ya recognize my voice?"

"Gin!" she gasped, as the former 3-bantai taichou emerged from the shadows, and lunged forward in a burst of reiatsu, sweeping up the chain she had dropped and preventing her from going anywhere.

"Oh dear, what do we have here?" he whispered, cornering her and dangling the chain in front of her face as he glared at the shiny decoration around her neck through slanted eyes. "Well?"

"It was a gift," she said carefully. "For my birthday…"

"Yes, from yer darlin' taichou, I see," he commented frowning visibly.

"You shouldn't be here," she warned.

"I came ta wish my childhood friend a happy birthday," he said, caressing her cheek with the hand that held the chain. "Look, I even brought yer favorite, dried persimmons."

Gin produced a box, which he set next to her as he leaned in to kiss her neck gently. Matsumoto was apprehensive as she studied his every move.

"Do ya remember who gave ya this?" he said placing the chain into her hand.

"Yes…"

"Do ya remember what it stood fer?"

"It was for that very reason I took it off," she responded bravely, her voice quivering.

"Oh? Care ta elaborate?" he asked curiously raising an eyebrow.

"It was time, Gin."

"Time? Time fer what?"

"Our time has passed. You said this chain represented our tie to one another—that we were meant to be together—abandoned by the world and destined to suffer together because no one wanted us. But this, this gift from my taichou is proof that there is hope. I don't have to live in the past and someone truly cares about me—"

"Hope? Have ya forgotten who found ya—"

"I'm not saying that I'm not grateful for you or that I want to forget the past. It's just that I want to stop living in the past and start living today—"

"Are those some pretty words yer cute taichou fed ya so you'd sleep with him—"

SLAP.

"I'm sorry," Matsumoto said, instantly feeling guilty for raising a hand to her friend. "That was uncalled for. But Hitsugaya-taichou is not like that. He's better than that."

"Oh, still on formal name basis? I bet he just likes ya fer the sex. After all, he's a man."

"What are you saying?! He would not use me like that! He's different! Besides if that were true, then why would he wait all these years, huh?!"

"How should I know, Rangiku-chan? All men 're the same. But he still doesn't know the real ya…The Ran-chan that used ta sell her—"

"Shut up! Why are you doing this?! Get out!" she screamed, throwing a chair at him, which he dodged easily enough.

"Violent as usual…Do ya honestly think yer past can be erased so easily? Maybe I need ta remind ya…"

The fox-eyed former taichou shoved her onto the bed and straddled her as he held her down by the wrists.

"Let me go," she demanded defiantly.

"What yer body really likes…" he whispered as he ripped her top and bra off and allowed his lips to trail down her collarbone to the darkened areola.

0-0-0-0-0

_Kira:Ichimaru-taichouuuuuuuuuuuu!!!_

_Renji:Never mind, him, Kira!_

_Kira:But, that's Ichimaru-taichou!! Why is he with Rangiku-saaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnn (tears welling in his eyes) Aaacck!_

_Ikkaku:(knocks out Kira and throws him over his shoulder) Here she goes twisting the plot again that stupid author—OUCH!_

_Yumichika:(smacking Ikkaku on the head with the latest chapter) Ikkaku! What have you done to Izuru-san?!_

_Ikkaku:Heh? He was just having one of those "ICHIMARU-TAICHOUUUUUUU" attacks again. _

_Yumichika:Yare yare….well, it appears that Kuchiki-taichou and Zaraki-taichou are also missing in action…Could it be related to Aizen? Does anyone know where they have disappeared to?_


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: KTNM.

A/N: A reflective mini chapter here to tie you all over …

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches – Chapter 15**

Matsumoto woke up to the insistent sound of a cell phone vibrating on the nightstand next to the bed. Rolling over to put the electronic device out of its misery, she rolled right off the bed and onto the floor.

"Where…what happened…?" she mumbled as she forced her eyes open.

The apartment was dark and quiet except for the slight hum of the refrigerator. She reached up to turn on the lamp on the nightstand. As soon as the soft light filled the room, the first thing she noticed was the massive bruising on her wrist. Looking down at her body, she saw more bruises on her thighs and scratches on her fair skin. The 10-bantai fukutaichou also suddenly became aware of a certain staleness that filled the air. Yet there was something very familiar about this staleness that permeated the apartment—it was the scent of sex and dried persimmons.

"Gin…" Matsumoto whispered, staring at the bruises and scratches that marred her milky skin like muddy footprints and blood splatter on a white carpet. She pulled herself up and the dried semen crusted on the bottom half of her body combined with the rawness she felt when she walked to the bathroom only served to make her feel cheap and used like a whore.

0-0-0-0-0

"_We really make quite the pair, don't we…An assassin and a whore—"_

"_Gin!"_

"_It's true, ain't it? Ya ain't just stripping no more, right? I know ye're sellin' yer body too."_

"_Sometimes it just isn't enough…Are you mad?"_

"_Hm? Mad? No. Why would I be mad? 'Cuz I gotta share ya wit' other men?"_

"_I don't know…"_

"_I know at tha end of tha day, ya come back ta me, so it don't really matter, right? Besides, ye're providin' tha world wit' a service, ain't ya? Pleasure fer all who can pay…"_

"…_Gin?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_Can I ask you something?"_

"_What?"_

"_How are you able to kill so easily?"_

"_I just think of us…if I don't kill, we don't eat. It's either us 'r them. Survival of tha fittest, Rangiku."_

"_It's still cold-blooded murder…"_

"_I don't kill women an' children…"_

"_You still kill people."_

"_Only corrupt, filthy individuals tha world could use less of…"_

0-0-0-0-0

Matsumoto turned the hot water on and stepped into the shower, letting the steamy spray hail down on her head like tiny pebbles as she merely stared at the water running down the drain.

0-0-0-0-0

_Then before I realized it, he became some sort of unstoppable, merciless killing machine—desensitized and almost unfeeling as he began to take whatever job came his way, regardless of the target. The targets may have started as corrupt politicians and shinigami, but soon he started destroying entire villages._

_I'm probably the only one who knows the truth about Gin. I don't think even Kira or Aizen know what he's truly like on the inside. One of the reasons why he was admitted into the Gotei 13 so quickly was because he was such a formidable presence. They were scared of him and wanted to make him an ally rather than an enemy. Aizen was the one who "discovered" Gin and his "talents" and Aizen was the one who made all the arrangements and preparations for Gin to enter the ranks of the Gotei 13. There is speculation now that Aizen is the mastermind behind all of this, but they're wrong. Aizen didn't corrupt an innocent boy when he brought Gin to the Seireitei. Gin was actually a boy that had already been quite warped and twisted for quite some time. _

'_Ikorose, Shinsou', the famous command of 3-bantai taichou, Ichimaru Gin. Perhaps no one has noticed it but me, but Shinsou is one of the only zanpakutou to require such an ill-intentioned command to release it. 'Shoot to kill'…Most zanpakutou respond to commands such as howl, roar, scatter, raise your head, sit upon the frozen heavens, or split. Shinsou is like one of those Doberman pincer guard dogs on those Material World shows, starved for affection, made tough by the twisted desires of his master and kept chained up to keep him vicious and blood-thirsty. And Shinsou bows to his master all to willingly. Shinigami in training are told that the zanpakutou is a reflection of a shinigami's soul and its personality is strongly correlated with that of the shinigami. Shinsou is no exception, a powerful manifestation of the torment that Gin has suffered through all his life._

_Gin always hides under his fox-face mask, keeping his true intentions and even his reiatsu hidden from the world. No one has realized it yet because the opportunity or the necessity has not presented itself here in the Seireitei, but Gin's reiatsu fully unleashed is deadly. His reiatsu is not like that of Zaraki Kenpachi, whose is just simply overwhelming and is what can paralyze people. Zaraki-taichou's lacks the ill intention aside from enjoying a good fight, but Gin's is enough to actually kill things. The malice is so strong that while those of taichou class would probably not feel so endangered, but those with no reiryoku or souls that are extremely weak would feel as if they were being strangled by his reiatsu. _

_I remember one day when we were traveling, this petty crook had us cornered and demanded money in exchange for our lives. Gin, even untrained at the time, frowned and told him to go away, which served to anger the crook even more. When he made a move to attack me, Gin stepped in his path, smiled chillingly, and when he opened his eyes, he released his reiatsu at full force and nearly killed the guy with his reiatsu. Shinsou was not even called out and I remember being so terrified. No one has it perfected like Gin. With skill like that, he doesn't need to know kidou. He's dangerous enough as is._

0-0-0-0-0

Matsumoto turned off the water and began to wash her hair and body, wincing whenever she brushed over the tender bruised flesh with the soap filled puff and nearly crying when the soap entered the raw scratches, sending a stinging sensation through her body.

0-0-0-0-0

_I sold my body. I was a stripper and a whore at times, but I was able to pay for myself to go to the Shinigami Academy for the first year. Fortunately, I never contracted anything from my days as a commercial sex worker. After that Gin paid for the remainder of my schooling until I entered a bantai and was able to make my own money in a socially respectable way. He has a soft spot like that. But that soft spot is hidden, protected by poison ivy and thorny bushes to lock a certain distance between you and it. To touch it is to have it prick your skin and allow the slow unnerving irritation to take over your body and fester until all that remains is an ugly rash that serves as harsh reminder of the horrid experience. People say that Yamamoto-soutaichou is the most powerful shinigami because he has so much experience and he is so old, but what has not been taken into account at least when evaluating Gin in terms of ability is his love for torturing things and ultimately killing them after allowing them to suffer for an extended period of time. No one ever thought to ask themselves why he only cut off Jidanbou's arms when Ichigo was trying to enter the Seireitei instead of just finishing him off in one quick blow to the head or heart? Gin likes to watch things suffer and writhe in pain before they die._

_I'm sure Kira knows this as well as I do, but sex with Gin is anything but truly enjoyable, beautiful, or pleasurable. In fact, it's usually quite painful. You writhe under him and he controls every aspect of it. He leaves you unsatisfied and needy, while filling you at the same time—truly the worst kind of feeling because it keeps you coming back for more. It's never as good as the first time, but you're under his spell, almost like Aizen. Except Aizen does it through gullible people like Hinamori-chan, allowing adoration to cloud their judgment to the point where it impedes their ability to discern the truth. Aizen is an illusionist, hiding behind a calm and kind demeanor. _

_Gin is nothing like Aizen, who hides behind his shroud of compassion. Those who know him best know better. Even those who don't know him stay away by pure animal instinct. Yet for people like Kira and I, we know better, yet we still do it. It's like a drug. You love the danger of it. It's a rush, a high. And then before you realize it, you're hooked and the drug is destroying you from the inside out. You realize nothing and keep coming back with the hope that this fix will be as good as the first time, without realizing that it will never be as good as the first time, but you think you need your fix in order to survive, rendering you powerless to escape its clutches as it kills you slowly…_

0-0-0-0-0

The water had run cold and Matsumoto rinsed the last of the soap from her body. She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower having reflected and cleared her mind after having taken a stroll down memory lane. When she stepped out of the shower, she knew she had washed her body several times over until it felt as raw has the tender folds of skin between her legs, but it did not feel like enough. She still felt dirty and cheap.

0-0-0-0-0

_For a long time, I thought that sex was supposed to be a painful endeavor as most of my partners left bruises, scratches, or bite marks on me. But none of that happened when my taichou gave himself to me for the first time. He was so gentle and it felt so good, which is why I can't let what happened between Gin and I ruin what I have with my taichou. I can't tell him; he doesn't deserve it. He deserves better than that. I can't worry him over something like this. No, I won't tell him. I can't tell him. I will do this to protect him and us._

0-0-0-0-0

_Meanwhile at 12-bantai headquarters: Gijutsu Kaihatsu Kyoku…_

"Here," mumbled Hitsugaya as he handed over several locks of his hair to the most fanart unfriendly taichou, 12-bantai taichou, Kurotsuchi Mayuri.

"Always a pleasure doing business," Mayuri sneered as he snatched it greedily. "Now, I can finally research taichou prodigies! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!! Nemu!"

"Yes, Mayuri-sama," replied the demure fukutaichou.

"Give Hitsugaya-taichou the reports!"

"At once, Mayuri-sama. Please follow me, Hitsugaya-taichou."

Leading him to a corner of the room, Nemu stopped where 20 cardboard boxes had been stacked in five neat rows of four, their height being nearly as tall as the vertically challenged taichou.

"Here are the reiatsu reports in the Material World for the last two months as per your request according to your specifications. Hollows are green, arrancar are yellow, pluses are pink, Kurosaki Ichigo is orange, his friends are indicated in purple, and any shinigami are blue. All known sources of reiatsu have been identified. Anything unusual has been circled in red. We have also prepared a report that summarizes each person's activity by time and coordinates as well as their reiatsu output. That report is in the last box over there."

"Thank you."

"If there is nothing else, Hitsugaya-taichou—"

"No, thank you, you may go," Hitsugaya said, walking over to the last box and pulling out the first report, which read 'UNUSUAL OBSERVATIONS.' Flipping through and scanning the first few pages of the report, he soon came upon what he was looking for. His brow furrowed as he clenched the report, the pages crumpling under the pressure, he spat, "Matsumoto."

"Kurotsuchi!" he called to the dark haired fukutaichou.

"Yes, Hitsugaya-taichou?" she asked, stopping in her tracks and turning around to face him like a toy soldier.

He walked over to her with the first report in his hand. "Arrange for these boxes to be sent to the Material World. I was going to take care of some things here, but something requires my immediate attention in the Material World. I need the portal opened tonight."

"My humblest apologies, Hitsugaya-taichou, we cannot open it tonight due to routine maintenance, per order of the soutaichou. Any concerns must be brought up with him…"

"Shit…All right. Fine. Let me know as soon as the portal can be opened. In the meantime, have these sent back to my headquarters," Hitsugaya stormed out of the underground laboratory.

"_Matsumoto, goddamn it! What the hell're you thinking!"_ he thought as he stepped out into the chilly night air.

0-0-0-0-0

_To be continued…_

Yumichika: Young love! The things we do for love! Mayonaka no Taiyou…Ahem. You haven't really told us anything more!

Me:(hides under a rock) Eep! Busted!

Byakuya:That's right.

Renji:(sweatdrop) Taichou, what are you doing here? This is the "Hurry up and write more C&P rally"

Byakuya:"Chrysanthemums and Peaches" is an important part of how we gather information about Aizen and what sort of things he is planning. Renji, get back to work!

Renji:Yes, sir…(walks off and disappears)

Kenpachi:Oh, very nice cover up, ice princess!

Byakuya:Excuse me?

Kenpachi:Why don't ya just admit it, already? Ya like this kind of romance fluffy shit!

Byakuya:Well, you like pretty things. I would say that's far more damaging to the ego of the 11-bantai, combat bantai, captain.

Kenpachi:Oh? Ya wanna make something outta it? I didn't hear you complaining last night—

Byakuya:You mean when you begged me to—

Yumichika:Now, now. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. This is still T rating. Though it fills my heart with joy that you have found someone, taichou—

Kenpachi:Yumichika! Get yer ass back to the filing! Don't ya come out 'til next week!

Yumichika:But, taichou—

Kenpachi:No whining! Get back to work!

Yumichika:I guess we'll be seeing you next time. Stay tuned…


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: KTNM

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches – Chapter 16**

Hitsugaya sat in the main library surrounded by books and research journals, pouring through each of them.

"_It's just not possible!_" he thought to himself irritably, as he slammed another tome shut and ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at the fine silvery strands in frustration.

beep beep beep

"Hmm?" Hitsugaya reached into his uniform and pulled out his cell phone from the Material World. "_Odd, why is it ringing?_"

Hitsugaya stood up and walked out into the adjacent garden.

"Hello?"

"Haaaaaalllloooooooo, Hitsugaya-taichou!" chirped a familiar voice.

"URAHARA! What the—"

"You're probably wondering how you can get service outside of the Material World. Well, I personally wanted to know if it was possible, so I attached a device that I invented to your phone. And, well to make a long story short, your cell phone is now the first cell phone with the capability to communicate with the living and the dead!!"

Hitsugaya rolling his eyes, "Fascinating. Urahara, isn't this violating your—"

"Of course not. It says that I may not _enter _the Soul Society _physically_, but it says nothing about me sending devices—"

"Urahara?" said Hitsugaya quietly, in a serious tone of voice, interrupting the chipper shopkeeper.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"Go ahead, ask away, Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Have you ever done research about the uniqueness of reiatsu?"

"I might have done an experiment or two…it depends who's asking."

"If Yamamoto-soutaichou is asking, then no."

"What if _I'm _asking you?"

"Well, that depends what you want to know."

"If I ask you, will you tell me the truth?"

"I don't lie, Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Conceal parts of or opt not to divulge the _entire_ truth, maybe, but I never lie."

"You just like to hoard information, don't you?"

"What could I do to motivate you to share some information with me?"

"That depends on what you want to know and how much you're willing to pay for it."

"How about my silence?"

"Your silence…? That isn't worth anything."

"It is when I know that you ordered another white scarf for Yoruichi-san from Kuchiki Byakuya—"

"Shh!! How did you find that out?! No one was supposed to know about that!"

"About what? About how you stuck your new red dishtowels in the laundry with Yoruichi-san's scarf and turned her favorite white accessory pink? As a matter of fact, I happened to run into Kuchiki-taichou just a moment ago, when he asked me to deliver the scarf…"

"My mind is an open book."

"Thank you. Tell me this, reiatsu is unique, right?"

"Reiatsu output or reiatsu itself as a means for identifying a person?"

"Reiatsu output isn't necessarily. Two shinigami could have the same or very similar capabilities when they perform the same or similar skills. But that has more to do with individual reiatsu efficiency in terms of consumption and replenishment—closer to the human metabolism if anything. But reiatsu as a signature is different. Can you use reiatsu as a method for identifying shinigami? Yes. Is it 100 percent reliable? Not when a machine does it. Why not? Souls for one are very complex and reiatsu is not like human DNA. Human DNA doesn't change when a person is angry or sad. Reiatsu peaks and spikes with a person's mood and machines can only take an output and compare it to previous samples and collections. Shinigami in particular are identified by their fluctuations in reiatsu. Of course reiatsu released at full power for an experiment and reiatsu being released out of anger look different when they are being measured. Well, shinigami, even twins, are different so shinigami themselves can usually distinguish one soul from the next; however machines are different. Those at the Gijutsu Kaihatsu Kyoku probably don't know it because they take their system as being absolute, but the method that they use to measure reiatsu is probably only 95 percent accurate at best. I know because I developed the system myself."

"Wait, so they aren't aware of its fallacies?"

"Probably not. The thing is the purpose I invented this system for and the purpose that they use it for now is completely different."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Quite a lot actually. When I developed this system, I developed it with the intent of using it for scientific purposes. We know that most trained shinigami can distinguish between different souls or can at least identify strong or familiar reiatsu, such as that of their captain to varying degrees, but when I had just been made captain and had the resources to finally start a proper laboratory, I had been pondering if _machines_ can distinguish between two shinigami. For example, I know where Tessai is by the strength of his reiatsu and just by the fact that I am familiar with his reiatsu as a means of separating him from other souls. And, among a bunch of considerably weak souls, his reiatsu sticks out considerably."

"What if he were to mask it?"

"I'm getting to that. Let me just explain the logic the system was built on first. I wanted to know if machines were capable of making that distinction, so I created a system that measured reiatsu of a certain level, analyzed the peaks and spikes in reiatsu, then compared it to data collected in the past, to which I discovered that for the most part, the peaks and spikes, though they may be stronger when the shinigami is in an emotional state, particularly when he is angry, are for the most part unique. This system works very well with one strong, clear reiatsu output in a confined non-busy area, by non-busy I mean where there aren't a lot of other strong reiatsu interfering with the sample. But try to spread that out over the entire Soul Society and the system will crash from overload, which is why when they ordered me to modify it for tracking purposes, I had to put limits and other filters in there so it would actually be effective enough to do what they wanted it to do."

"You willingly gave up that invention to the Gotei 13?"

"No. As I said, it was an _order_."

"Did you warn them of the fallacies?"

"I tried. Well, there was a lot of politics wrapped up in that decision, but basically, I was the only inventor and researcher at the time and they wanted a system to track high level reiatsu and they didn't care what had to be done, so long as it found the data that they wanted. And luckily for them, my system was able to process their request. Tracking high level reiatsu is a whole lot less complex than finding weak or masked reiatsu and the easiest way to do it is to put everyone on a point system and just tell the system to find anyone whose reiatsu exceeds a certain value, the assumption being that reiatsu spiking is an indication that something must be wrong and the soul emitting this reiatsu must be put on alert. Yes, it is probably a good indication that something might be worth looking into, but the thing is that high level reiatsu could be the result of many things— "

"For example?"

"For example? For example, well, two shinigami sparring at full power might be viewed as 'dangerous'. Hollow extermination, out of control kidou by an inexperienced user, sex—"

"Sex?"

"Well, some shinigami are unable to keep their reiatsu in check 100 percent of the time and research shows that anger and sex are the two most likely occasions for reiatsu to spike to levels that might be picked up by the system."

"Research? I'm not even going to ask how you researched that."

"Well, to make a long story short, I'm saying that yes the system tracks reiatsu output, which can be then used as a means to identify a soul, but reiatsu without context is meaningless, which is why most of the daily 'UNUSUAL OBSERVATIONS' reports just end up in storage boxes or databases. They're just records that no one looks at. With so many shinigami to watch, lots of work to do, and 12-bantai always having a labor shortage, they just create files and reports which no one looks at but can be referred to later should the need arise.

Going back to your question about masking reiatsu, unless that shinigami were naïve enough to use something that expended a lot of energy like a full force shunpo, it would be very hard to track her. Not to say that the system couldn't find her, but it would just be very difficult to trace her movement. It would be very time consuming to have to isolate her and usually by the time you figure out where she is, she's already moved, so you're always two or three _hundred_ steps behind. Also, if they were skilled enough to mask a high level reiatsu to begin with, chances are you're going to be dealing with someone who does not want to be found, thereby complicating your work. It's probably faster for you to ask someone who knows the person better and is maybe better accustomed to sensing that shinigami's reiatsu, particularly at concealed levels. Oh, if the reiatsu has been sealed, then you can just forget ever tracking that person down."

"I see…"

"Two, we must have a record of it in our database. The thing is, that system improves itself by 'learning', but it can only learn what you give it. There are just too many souls in too big of a space to be able to keep track of every soul. Most times only those in the ranks of the Gotei 13 are being monitored with the exception of hollows and other negative soul entities in terms of shinigami and even then, they only appear on their radar when they expend a certain level of reiatsu, which is a percentage of their estimated total limit for reiatsu expenditure, and therefore varies from shinigami to shinigami. I'm sure now you see the problem in this. This percentage is an average, taken over the lifetime of the shinigami as perceived by the radar."

"So basically, your system is useless—well, not completely useless, _virtually_ useless."

"I beg your pardon. Useless?!"

"This system you have developed has no concept of what the shinigami is doing or why and if it should even be considered relevant. So basically, it's useless."

"Well, it's a system that is measuring peaks and among other things in reiatsu at various levels. And these spikes serve as indicators of a shinigami's identity. Also, the movement of the released zanpakutou as an extension of reiatsu helps identify a shinigami. So it's not _completely _useless."

"But much of it is statistics and mathematics done by computer—"

"This is true—"

"So, it's not so much a matter of reiatsu not being measured, but whether or not that reiatsu is determined to be significant enough to appear on the radar."

"I will give you that one. But there are some checks and filters in there so that it is not a complete waste of technological space. I mean, if someone is expending a good deal of energy for an extended period of time, that will definitely be picked up by the radar."

"But basically, these goons at the Gijutsu Kaihatsu Kyoku can only look for what you tell them to look for in the grand scheme of things? As in, they're pretty much only on the lookout for what you tell them to be on the lookout for."

"I would be lying if I told you otherwise."

"Then what about this. Can shinigami change their reiatsu?"

"Change their reiatsu? Well, I know a shinigami's reiatsu is slightly altered when he becomes stronger and maybe attains bankai for the first time. But on say, a chart, it should look very similar to what it did when he first learned the name of his zanpakutou. After all, the zanpakutou hasn't changed much, simply attained a higher form—"

"No, like disguise it so it looks like someone else's reiatsu?"

"You're getting into a dangerous area, Hitsugaya-taichou, an area that many shinigami researchers dare not venture into. 'Disguising oneself to pose as another shinigami in terms of reiatsu signature' is no easy feat. Forging reiatsu is not like forging a signature or like putting on a wig and veil to look like someone else. When you think about what would even be involved in performing such a feat, I would be willing to bet that the chances that a person like that exists are practically slim to none. There are many ways to conceal, destroy, and seal away reiatsu, but making it so that a shinigami's reiatsu output mimics that of someone else… I've heard of hollows and shinigami with zanpakutou that allow them to copy moves of their opponents… and I'm sure you don't need to be told of the complexities surrounding zanpakutou that are fickle enough to give themselves to more than one shinigami…"

"But what you're suggesting is a very, very complex process, requiring tremendous skill in reiatsu manipulation. Knowing you, you're probably going to ask what's involved. So in a nutshell, you have the reiatsu manipulation master who must first suppress his own reiatsu, but not completely sealing it away, for if he were to seal it away completely, he couldn't perform the next part. Then while, suppressing his own reiatsu, he must take on the characteristics of another person's reiatsu, manipulating his suppressed reiatsu to match the signature of his target, which is no easy task as some shinigami cannot even keep their own reiatsu in check. Steadily mimicking the reiatsu signature would require extensive research into the patterns and wavelengths of the target reiatsu on a highly scientific and technical level—not to mention the energy expenditure involved. But bottom line, it would be like a human trying to make his fingerprint identical to another human's. I'm sure it's possible, but it would probably require a tremendous amount of skill and most likely more trouble than it's worth."

"I was thinking maybe someone might be trying to do it to avoid detection from the Gijutsu Kaihatsu Kyoku."

"Anything to avoid the good ol' GKK, huh? Hmm, well I can't be sure unless I have the output. Perhaps you could come back—"

"I can't. I've been stuck here what seems like ages. It appears that all the portals have been sealed between the two worlds for the time being."

"Oh? How interesting."

"What?"

"I wondered if they finally noticed that gaping hole out by the northern part of district 57—"

"You mean you knew that the portal was weak?"

"Of course," the shopkeeper snorted. "I told them countless times about reinforcing the portals before I actually left the Soul Society, but that's another story for another day. In regards to your question, did something happen that caused you to doubt the integrity—"

"Actually, I was looking at the outputs for the 29th of September."

"29th of September? That would be exactly one week ago today, huh. Was there something unusual, Hitsugaya-taichou?"

"As a matter of fact, I noticed that my reiatsu appeared on two separate reports. I returned to the Soul Society on urgent business mid-afternoon that day, which explains why my reiatsu is showing up on this side. But what I don't understand is how I'm in the Soul Society from mid-afternoon on the 29th, but my reiatsu somehow appears in the Material World for several hours while I show no signs of leaving the Soul Society. This happens not once but several times within this past week! Urahara, just what the hell is going on here?"

"Urahara…?"

"…Have you told the soutaichou about any of this?"

"No. One, he's been unavailable for weeks according to the secretaries. And two, I like to do my research before presenting a potential problem to my superiors. I've been stuck here for a week since they won't open the portals and I've been reviewing the reports from the Gijutsu Kaihatsu Kyoku. I've read practically everything there is on reiatsu in the Central Library—"

"Does anyone know what you're researching and why you're researching?"

"Well, I've had to ask for reports from Kurotsuchi-taichou, but he seems to be preoccupied with his research and has pretty much given me access to whatever I've needed."

"Anyone else?"

"No, I've been living in my office or the library. I've had minimal contact with other shinigami since I came back. My 3-seki is still handling everything on my behalf. He knows that Matsumoto and I are on special assignment in the Material World and will be traveling back and forth until further notice."

"Good."

"Why? Do you know something I don't?" Hitsugaya said in a low voice, his eyes narrowing.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, what I am about to tell you is advice from my own personal experience," the former taichou began seriously. "You have my word that everything you have told me in this conversation will be kept in confidence."

"Okay…"

"I advise that you keep everything to yourself. Take a copy of everything and keep it in a safe place where no one will find it. Send it here under reiatsu lock if you want. Return those reports to the GKK immediately. Don't act suspicious. Eliminate any paper trails if possible—"

"Urahara, what are you—"

"Listen, Hitsugaya-taichou. I'm not telling you this to get you in trouble. You're very young and the system is very, very, very old. What you have on your hands is an extremely delicate situation. As you saw first hand from the Kurosaki intrusion incident, alliances and influences are not always clear. You never know who you can trust and who is truly acting in your best interest—"

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't. But I'm not a part of the system any longer, nor is there any incentive for me to lie to you at this point in time. I cannot change the way you think, but believe me when I tell you this. You have a potentially sticky and dangerous situation on your hands. I know you are generally not one to act quite so rashly, so I am telling you this in all seriousness. Know also that your actions will carry consequences whichever path you choose. Whether you choose to present the information as you have it now or conceal it for the time being, you will run into legal issues in the system."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Well, I know the former of those paths will definitely put you under a lot of scrutiny—perhaps something you may not want in the months to come. You seem to be in the middle of an assignment. An incrimination or charge of some sort may taint your cause…"

"Can't you tell me more about—"

"No, not right now. What I would recommend to you is to keep a low profile. Keep your contact with other shinigami to a minimum, at least until they open up the portals again. Do not rush them or seem overly anxious for the portals to be reopened. Just be patient and let things run their natural course. In the meantime, copy all the relevant materials and research and return everything as inconspicuously as possible. Wait until they open the portal and come back to the Material World. I'll tell you then about your case. You may want to catch up on your paperwork in the meantime. This is only my advice to you. I won't be insulted if you choose not to follow it. See you soon."

Click.

The call came to a sharp end and Hitsugaya was left holding the phone whose only response after a few seconds was the dull pulse of the dial tone.

0-0-0-0-0

The portals remained sealed and showed no signs of reopening until almost two weeks later.

Hitsugaya was sitting at his desk in his office when he heard two sharp knocks on his door. "Twenty-four carry the two, less four percent here and—"

"Package for you, Hitsugaya-taichou," called a voice from the other side.

"Two dependents times one-thirty-four and…Enter," he called without looking up from his paperwork. He was nearly done checking the calculations for the cost of living adjustments.

The door slid open and a young shinigami carrying a rather large box staggered in under the weight of the parcel.

"Just put it over there by Matsumoto's desk," he murmured.

"Yes, sir."

When the package had been set next to his fukutaichou's desk, the delivery shinigami walked over and handed an envelope to the serious taichou.

"What's this?" asked Hitsugaya curiously, setting down his brush.

"It was not with the package, but I was told to bring it here."

"Fine, okay," Hitsugaya said, accepting the letter and waving his hand to dismiss him.

"Excuse me."

Hitsugaya stood up from his desk and opened the envelope. As he walked over to the window he read the contents silently.

'_To Gotei 13 taichou: Select portals have been reopened. Travel shall be limited to only those of taichou class until further notice. Lower-ranking shinigami dispatched outside of the Soul Society are requested to stand by at their stations. Do not order their return until receiving clearance. That is all._'

"_Another odd request?_" he thought to himself as he stared out the window. Shaking his head he walked over to Matsumoto's desk to the package that had been placed on the floor. Looking for the sender's address, he realized that it was on the side that had been placed against the desk. The emerald-eyed taichou bent down to turn the package around and in the process hit the rubbish bin next to the desk, causing it to fall over.

"Damn," he muttered as he turned around to pick up the crumpled pieces of paper that were now all over his floor. He noticed as he picked the trash up that they were all stamped with some sort of red seal. Opening some of them up, he saw several sheets of paper that each read the exact same thing.

'_Application for Dispatch to the Material World. 10-bantai fukutaichou, Matsumoto Rangiku. July 31. DENIED. August 8. DENIED. August 17. DENIED. August 25. DENIED._'

"What the hell is going on?" he sighed as he shuffled through the papers. "If I didn't send for backup and she wasn't dispatched by anyone, then what the hell is she doing in the Material World?"

Throwing the rest of the irrelevant papers back into the trash, he folded the denied applications and slipped them into his uniform and quickly headed to the nearest portal.

0-0-0-0-0

The young, jade-eyed taichou appeared in front of the doors of the Urahara Shouten in his gigai. A grouchy looking Jinta was bullying Ururu with his broom.

"Ururu! This is all your—"

"You shouldn't bully girls," murmured Hitsugaya coolly as he took the broom from Jinta and held it above his head. Of course, Jinta was just barely centimeters too short to grab it back.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, what can we help you with today?" asked Ururu shyly.

"Hmm?" Hitsugaya looked down, waving the broom around in the air as Jinta tried to jump up and retrieve the tool. "I was looking for Urahara."

"He's inside rearranging the shelves," she squeaked pointing to the closed sliding doors.

"Thanks," he said, throwing the broom to the side, eliciting a growl from the red haired short-tempered boy as he left the two children and approached the doors.

"Welcome," called a chipper voice, as the shop doors slid open, revealing the mischievous shopkeeper. "Oh, Hitsugaya-taichou. Long time no see. What brings you here?"

"Your scarf," he said, handing him a considerably sized package bearing what looked to be a heavy reiatsu seal.

Urahara looked down and after several moments, he accepted the package.

"The situation has become even more complex since we last spoke—"

"Say no more. I'll take a look at it right now, Hitsugaya-taichou," the sandy-haired former taichou said solemnly.

Hitsugaya bowed slightly and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"It'll take you awhile to take a look at everything right? I'll come back in a few days."

"Don't underestimate my abilities as a world-class researcher. Your analysis will be done in less than 24 hours. Come back tomorrow at noon."

Hitsugaya nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait—"

"Yes?"

"Aren't you going to take this off?" asked Urahara, pointing to the seal on the parcel. "This seal looks pretty complex—"

"No. I'm sure someone who can analyze all that data in less than 24 hours should have no problem breaking a seal like that without damaging the contents," he said before walking out onto the main road.

0-0-0-0-0

Hitsugaya stood in front of his apartment pondering the recent circumstances, half afraid of what may be revealed should he confront his fukutaichou.

"Matsumoto…" he breathed as he reached for the knob.

The front door was unlocked, so he let himself in quietly. Removing his shoes, he stepped up into the entrance to the apartment and saw Matsumoto humming gently to herself in the kitchen with the television on in the background. Her back was to him and she appeared to be lost in her own world as she chopped up some cabbage near the sink.

"I wonder when taichou will be back," she said aloud to herself, smiling gently as she moved the chopped cabbage into a bowl. The television had been playing a music video and Matsumoto began singing along to the chorus as she skipped over to the other counter to retrieve the salt and pepper. "_Loving you, asa hiru ban, itoshii mei wo kamishimeru…_"

Hitsugaya felt something tug at his heart as he found the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. He walked over to his fukutaichou, his socks muffling the sounds of his already quiet footsteps and stopped inches behind her. Lifting one hand as if to touch her on the shoulder, he stopped midair and allowed it to drop to his side. Bowing his head slightly, he rested his forehead gently against the curve of her upper back and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You should lock the door when you're all alone," he whispered quietly into her back, sending shivers down her spine.

"Taichou," she gasped, dropping the containers onto the counter.

"I'm home," he said, drawing her body nearer to his, not yet allowing her to see his face.

Then in a sudden motion, Matsumoto managed to slip out from his embrace, push the serious 10-bantai taichou so that his back was flush with the refrigerator, and proceed to lean in dangerously close as she supported her body weight with her arms against the refrigerator door. She stared into his startled eyes for several moments before moving in to lick his lips.

"Welcome back," she smiled as she claimed his mouth fiercely with a kiss.

"I missed you," panted Matsumoto between breaths. "I know you missed me too…"

Hitsugaya was dizzy. How was he supposed to think straight and drill her about the paperwork inconsistencies if she kept sucking the air out of his lungs at every chance she got?!

"I…you, Matsumoto…Ah, stop—" he protested with not a whole lot of conviction as her long fingers trailed down his chest and danced around his belt for several seconds. His mind was screaming for him to corner her and get it the real reason out of her, but his body conveniently betrayed him under her touch.

"Your mouth says no, but your body tells me otherwi--se," she sang triumphantly, unzipping his pants.

0-0-0-0-0

Matsumoto stood up and licked the corners of her mouth.

Hitsugaya had somehow backed himself into a corner and was now supporting himself with one arm against the wood cabinets as he recovered from the after shocks of Matsumoto's oral services. His legs were still trembling and his face and neck were covered with a thin sheen of sweat.

"_Damn you, Matsumoto_," he thought as he tried to catch his breath. "_I wonder if she knows that I'm onto her and she's trying to—_"

"I'll finish up dinner," interrupted Matsumoto cheerily as she walked over to wash her hands in the sink. "Taichou, you must be tired. Why don't you go have a shower before dinner?"

"Yeah, okay," he mumbled as he stumbled to the bathroom.

When he emerged from the shower, the food was already on the table, but Matsumoto looked as if she were on her way out.

"Oh, taichou. We're out of tea. I'm going to go and buy some—" said, grabbing her purse and heading out the door.

"It's okay, I can drink water—"

"I'm just gonna run down to the convenience store on the corner. I'll only be a minute."

"Well, okay," he conceded, plopping himself down on a cushion in the living room. "Be careful."

"I will," she promised, shutting the door behind her.

Hitsugaya sighed. Matsumoto was being more attentive than she usually was. To be honest, it was a little weird. In the privacy of the apartment, there was no real need for them to be all lovey-dovey. He was used to her antics when it came to her trying to irritate the hell out of him, but Matsumoto being nice to him—the concept was almost beyond his comprehension. In fact, when he really thought about it, the concept of anyone being truly nice to him was generally beyond his comprehension.

0-0-0-0-0

"_Toushirou…Toushirou? What are you doing here? Why are you crying?"_

"_Nobody likes me. Everyone in the village is afraid of me, baa-chan (grandmother). No one wants to be around me. Papa hates me and oniichan told me that I was a murderer."_

"_Why would your older brother tell you such a thing?"_

"_Because, Mama was killed because of me. He said that if I hadn't been born, Mama would still be alive. He said that's the reason why Papa doesn't love me—because I killed his wife."_

"_That is terrible thing to—"_

"_It's okay. It's true. I am a murderer and that's why God is punishing me. He made my hair white and my eyes green—different from Papa and Oniichan—as my punishment. My punishment for killing my mother is that no one will ever want to be near me. This is how people will know that I am different, that I have sinned. I will not be able to get close to anyone—"_

"_Toushirou, come here. Come give me a hug. That's it. Now you come inside. Now I don't know what your father and brother are thinking, but it just isn't right to go telling you those kinds of things. You just stay here."_

"_You're not going to make me go home, baa-chan? 'Cuz they don't want me no more—"_

"_You can stay here as long as you like, Toushirou. Never mind what the world thinks of you. Do you know why they're afraid of you?"_

"_Why?"_

"_Because they know you're different. Not different in a bad way, in a good way. You're special. You're going to go far. Your father and brother and everyone else that makes those stupid judgments based on the color of your eyes and hair—they're just scared that you'll one day be more successful than them. You were born under a lucky star and trust me, someday you're going to shine brighter than everyone else. You'll see."_

"_Baa-chan?"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_Thank you."_

0-0-0-0-0

Hitsugaya snapped out of his reverie and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes. He sat up and looked around.

"Matsumoto?" he called. "_Just how long have I been daydreaming?!_"

He was just about to stand up when he heard something beeping. Looking at the screen, he breathed, "Hollow. It's nearby—"

He slipped out of the gigai into his shinigami form and bounded out of the apartment in search of the negative energy source. Spotting the grotesque creature from behind, he raised his zanpakutou and sliced through the hollow, defeating it with a single stroke. Figuring the hollow might have been after some poor lost soul, he waited around for the energy particles to dissipate before advancing to see if there were any pluses present.

"Matsumoto?!" he shouted, surprised that she was on the ground injured. "What happened?!"

Hitsugaya rushed to her side and upon closer inspection, noticed that she looked as if she had been beaten up pretty badly.

"Wow, that hollow sure surprised me," she laughed uneasily, scratching the back of her head. "It just came out of nowhere…"

Hitsugaya stared at his fukutaichou unsure of how he should react. Biting his tongue, there were many questions running through his mind, but he was certain that this was not the time to bring them up. Turning his attention to her injuries, he looked down and saw that part of her skirt and blouse had been torn in the struggle revealing not only some fresh injuries, but also what looked to be several old ones.

"Matsumoto, what happened to your leg?" he asked pointing to the appendage in question.

"Hmm? Oh, the hollow must have got it."

"No, not the blood, the bruises. What happened?"

"Oh, it must have been that hollow the other day…"

"When?"

"Oh, two or three days ago."

"Let me see it."

"No, it's fine."

"Does it hurt?"

"No—Ouch, ouch, okay! It hurts!"

"Then why didn't you just heal it?"

"I don't know…I think it's almost that time of the month, so I'm feeling a bit weak—"

"Fine, but three days, your wound should have healed by now. Let me see it."

"No—it's okay. All right, fine."

Hitsugaya passed some of his reiatsu through his palms and managed to heal most of the injuries, both the fresh and the old ones, before extending his hand to help her up.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thank you, taichou. Where did you learn that?"

"A friend in 4-bantai…"

As they walked back to the apartment in silence, Hitsugaya noticed that they were a lot farther than the convenience store that Matsumoto had said she was going to stop at. Could it be…?

"Matsumoto?" he asked quietly, holding the door open for her.

"Yes, taichou?"

"No. Never mind. Nothing," he said, closing the front door behind them and returning into his gigai, who was watching television in the living room.

"Nothing?"

"Never mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Let's just have dinner."

The two sat across of each other and Matsumoto poured the tea for the both of them. Hitsugaya said nothing as he stared at his food.

"Something wrong with the food?" asked Matsumoto concernedly. "Taichou?"

"_Do I ask her or do I shut up and hold my tongue?"_

Hitsugaya appeared to be lost in his thoughts. Matsumoto waved one hand in front of his face, frowning.

"Hello? This is Matsumoto. Matsumoto to Taichou? Come in. Do you copy? Whooo? Hellllooooo? Anyone home?"

Matsumoto touched him on the shoulder, which seemed to bring him back to the present at least for the time being.

"Taichou?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright? You weren't responding. Are you feeling okay?"

"I must be more tired than I thought I was. I'm sorry, Matsumoto. You made all this food. But I think I'm gonna just turn in for the night. Just put my food into the fridge. I'll eat it tomorrow. 'Night."

The emerald-eyed taichou stood up and walked into the bedroom. Matsumoto heard the rustle of clothes indicating him changing for bed and a tired thud as her taichou collapsed onto the bed.

"Good night."

0-0-0-0-0

Matsumoto woke up the next morning to the sound of papers shuffling and the clatter of calloused fingers hitting the plastic keyboard keys. She rolled over to see what time it was.

4:32 AM.

"_He must not have slept well,"_ she thought to herself as she rolled out of bed and wandered into the living room, where she found the 10-bantai taichou deeply engrossed in his work. She smiled to herself as she gazed at the way his workstation was setup. All his work was divided into neat little piles in order of importance of course. The piles were of course all equally spaced from each other and all his research materials were stacked up neatly, the largest bound objects on the bottom, smallest on the top, flushed to the right (where they were bound at the spine) and consolidated in the uppermost right corner.

"Taichou, what are you doing up so early in the morning?"

"Work," he replied dully, as he continued to type away.

Matsumoto crouched down and peered over at the scope of the work before realizing that just looking at all that work was making her sleepy. She planted herself rather unceremoniously next to him on an extra cushion.

"Oi, Matsumoto, if you're gonna sleep, pass out on the bed, not over here!" he said grouchily.

"No," she whined, already half-asleep. "I wanna be next to you…"

Hitsugaya stopped and wondered why his fukutaichou could tug at his heart the way she did.

"Fine," he conceded, pouting visibly and crossing his arms. "But don't blame me if you wake up with a stiff neck!"

He stood up, marched over to the couch, threw the blanket that had been lying on the arm of said couch over Matsumoto's body, and sat back down with a huff.

"What a pain in the ass you are," he grumbled, turning his attention back to his work.

"Thank you for always putting up with me," she mumbled back, pulling the blanket around her body.

0-0-0-0-0

Hitsugaya continued to work into the morning. He managed to shuffle through most of the reports from two of the ten boxes that had taken up residency in their apartment in his absence. Even with the 10-bantai 3-seki taking care of things back in the Soul Society and Matsumoto helping him out in the Material World, there were still many things that only the taichou was authorized or obligated to take care of. With his special assignment to keep an eye out for Aizen and his goons, the paperwork for 10-bantai had been neglected and had piled up since his deployment to the Material World.

"_Well, at least I can take these two boxes back_," he thought to himself as he relocated the mountain of bound materials from his makeshift workstation back into the cardboard box. While his paperwork appeared to be moving forward, there was still one thing that bothered him. "_What am I supposed to do about Matsumoto…?_"

He looked to his left where his soundly sleeping fukutaichou lay, a few beams of the morning sun filtering through the blinds and accenting her gorgeous features. He looked over at the digital clock.

11:37 AM.

"_It's nearly noon and she's still not up?_" he wondered, standing up and walking over to the kitchen to pour himself some tea from the refrigerator. Hitsugaya downed the cool liquid and placed the glass in the sink before heading out the door to the Urahara Shouten.

He arrived at the humble shop at exactly noon, having walked the entire distance.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, right on schedule," greeted the former 12-bantai taichou, standing in the doorway holding his hat with one lazy hand. "Please come in."

"Forgive the interruption," Hitsugaya muttered following the shopkeeper down the corridor and to a room at the end of the hall.

The room they stopped at was Japanese-style, tatami mat floored, and had no windows or furniture.

"Here we are."

"Urahara, there's nothing here but a closet."

"We're going down to my laboratory," the normally jovial shopkeeper replied in a solemn voice as he slid the closet door open.

"But there's nothing here but a wall," protested Hitsugaya.

"Just walk forward," instructed Urahara, proceeding and appearing to walk right into the wall.

Hitsugaya followed, trying his best to maintain a stoic face and pretend that he was not impressed that they had just walked right through what looked like a solid wall. After several long minutes of walking down a dimly lit winding path, they stopped in front of a dark barrier.

"Stand back, Hitsugaya-taichou," Urahara warned, drawing his zanpakutou from his cane. "_Okiro, Benihime._"

No sooner had he uttered the command, the sword came alive with a burst of reiatsu. The secretive former taichou plunged the zanpakutou straight into the barrier and turned the hilt to the right, causing what looked to be seven or eight barriers to separate in the form of a large triangle shaped entrance, parting the way for the two visitors.

"This way."

Hitsugaya proceeded and as soon as he passed through the barrier and was in the main laboratory, the barriers snapped back into place with a crackle.

"How ingenious, Urahara."

"What?"

"Your zanpakutou acts as the key to your secret laboratory."

"Very convenient isn't it?" he responded proudly, leading the younger taichou to the heart of the laboratory, where there were many machines, screens, and papers scattered about the workstation. "This laboratory is completely sound proof. So you don't have to worry about anyone hearing our conversation."

"I imagine it's also invisible to the naked eye with all those barriers. So even if someone were to discover the wall and were able to make their way down here, they would not be able to enter. Nor could they even fathom what might be on the other side of those barriers. I bet that there are parts of the Gijutsu Kaihatsu Kyoku Laboratories with these secret passages, aren't there?"

"Well, what Mayuri-kun doesn't know won't hurt him. Though I'm sure he's at least aware of areas of the laboratories that even he cannot enter without risking damaging what exists beyond those barriers and seals. Anyway, back to you."

Urahara offered Hitsugaya a chair and gestured grandiosely.

"Welcome. I have reviewed everything you gave to me," he started as he brought up some data on several touch screens. "Am I correct in stating that the most urgent of your concerns is that your reiatsu signature is appearing both in the Material World and in the Soul Society? Good. There were other things I noticed that weren't exactly related to you, but I'll reserve those comments for another day. Now, I do have some questions and you are going to have to answer them truthfully so I can put some of the data in context. Basically, I have looked at the periods that you have given me and I've noticed a total of four separate incidents involving this mysterious other 'copycat'."

"Four?"

"Well, technically there are a total of six days in which this signature appeared, but two of those incidents lasted more than one day. However, they all occurred while you were not in the Material World—"

"Yes, I know that. Tell me something I don't—"

"Well, it might have actually raised a flag if they saw you twice in the same world, Hitsugaya-taichou. But instead, you just appeared in two different worlds overlapping the same time period on four separate occasions. The reason why I don't think anyone noticed is because the shinigami that monitor activity in the Material World are different from the shinigami that monitor activity in the Soul Society. They probably don't talk to each other, which is why it was never questioned, fortunately for you."

"Fortunately?"

"Well, at least for the time being. Now, here's what's interesting about this output. When I isolated the copycat with my programs, do you see how on your report, it just lists 'Hitsugaya Toushirou' on the Material World report? Well, when I ran the copycat through my program using the data output you gave me, I got a reading that you see here on this screen, that indicates that the copycat is only a 92 percent match to your output in the Soul Society. 92 percent is good, but let me show you something. Okay, here is your normal registered output as far as the GKK is concerned and this is the copycat signature, right? Now, pull yourself out of your gigai and place your hand on that sensor right next to you. Send a small pulse of reiatsu out into that keypad. Good. Now a bit of analysis here and look at this screen here. It shows that your output and the one you just gave me are a 99.9 percent match. There are some things that people just can't forge when it comes to replicating someone's reiatsu signature. Without getting into too much technical detail, basically when I isolated your actual versus the copycat, I was able to pinpoint thirteen different areas. Nine of those thirteen have to do with zanpakutou as an extension of the reiatsu signature, most likely indicating that the copycat was either unfamiliar or unable to completely replicate the signature."

"Why aren't the machines in the Soul Society equipped to do this kind of analysis?"

"Well, the way I do some of my analysis can be sometimes…unorthodox, to say the least."

"Unorthodox…?"

"Well, as unorthodox or irrational as they may seem, they're usually on the money."

"So what can you tell me about the copycat? Have you got a profile or a motive or anything?"

"Hitsugaya-taichou, I am but a humble shopkeeper who likes to dapple in research as a hobby—"

"Yeah, dapple my ass—"

"Motive is your job. I can give you a general profile, though. Let me just get my notes here. Let's see what I wrote down. We're actually looking for a duo."

"A duo?"

"At least. It may be a group, but I'm not too sure. The reason why I say duo is because further analysis of the data indicated that there were actually three separate signatures hidden in one. It's hard to tell if they're shinigami or not because they are so faint from being hidden underneath the imitation. The 92 percent match with your output is one. Then there's the entity who is suppressing their own reiatsu combined with another entity who is manipulating and controlling the imitation."

"So the imposter is not the same person that made the imitation?"

"Correct, according to the data. While I don't know 100 percent if shinigami are behind all of this, I would think that it would be the easiest for a shinigami to perform this skill. The feat itself already requires a tremendous amount of skill, not to mention reiatsu to begin with. In addition, it requires somewhat of a brain to manipulate, which is why we're probably not dealing with hollows or even arrancar. I'm actually thinking that this might be related to Aizen—"

"What did you say?"

"Aizen, I think it might be related to Aizen. What I also noticed was that the outputs would appear very suddenly and almost at random. The suddenness indicates that the Hitsugaya imposter is probably capable of hiding in other dimensions aside from the Material World and the Soul Society like—"

"Hueco Mundo."

"Yes—"

"Aizen Sousuke and Ichimaru Gin."

"What?"

"Aizen is the shadow master—the king of hypnosis. I'm sure this is just another hypnosis trick of his. Ichimaru—Ichimaru, must be the gopher Aizen is using. Aizen wouldn't dirty his hands this early in the game. That is what he has minions for. But on the other hand, he wouldn't trust something like this to just anyone. The question is, why? When I looked at the data, it did not appear that the copycat was doing anything out of the ordinary. Just maintenance reiatsu levels for gigai—"

"I also noticed that, Hitsugaya-taichou. No outstanding levels of reiatsu. It was almost like the copycat—"

"Wanted to fit in?"

"Yes. It was almost as if he did not want to be noticed. This copycat was aware that you were not in the Material World, which suggests he must be highly sensitive to reiatsu. And as I said earlier, he appears very suddenly and disappears just as suddenly. When I ran the data again, I also noticed that the entry and exit was off."

"Off? How so?"

"Well, usually when the portal to the Soul Society opens up, say for when shinigami enter and exit the Material World, the portal has the tendency to suck reiatsu up even before the shinigami has passed through, as the Soul Society is a world of spirit particles. So when we look at output, you see the reiatsu start weak before strengthening and reaching a plateau when they enter the Material World, and when they leave—"

"The same effect in reverse—"

"Correct. The problem with the copycat is that the entry and exits are too clean. Most shinigami are unaware of this fact and simply pass through both worlds without changing their output."

"Urahara, I know that the report only indicates that I was in the Material World and not where, but can you tell me where the copycat was appearing? Maybe there was a pattern."

"Hmm. The data was sort of incomplete…The original output would have been a bit more helpful, as I had to reconstruct parts, but…Hmm…let's try opening this tab over here and…oh, this is interesting."

"What?"

"All of the incidents were in more or less the same location—indicated here by what shinigami researchers call "background noise", referring to the surrounding reiatsu outputs, humans with reiryoku, etc. Let's see, it shows here that when you remove this, this, and that over there, you have…Matsumoto-fukutaichou's signature in all four of those incidents."

"Matsumoto?"

"As previously stated, I cannot tell you why, though I can tell you that according to the data, there is a high probability that the copycat was in contact with Matsumoto-fukutaichou. My guess, however, is that the copycat's motive was not to make trouble, but either to pay a visit to Matsumoto-fukutaichou or to appear innocuous on the radar as it would not be unusual for the two of you to be together as you are in the same bantai."

"Would she have by any chance been aware of the copycat?"

"I would not rule it out as a possibility. According to her reiatsu output, as you probably noticed, she appeared to be reacting to something, given those spikes that overlap with the times the copycat appeared in the Material World. The problem, however, is that it may be all coincidence. She might have been reacting to something completely different, as she might not have even noticed the imposter in the Material World—"

"What do you mean, 'not noticed'?! How could she not have noticed someone with a similar reiatsu output to mine?!"

"Think about it. I'm guessing that as your second-in-command, she probably knows your reiatsu signature very well. Even if a copycat did appear that seemed like a reasonable facsimile, her senses probably were not fooled like the GKK machines were. It may very well be that it never even occurred to her that the imposter was trying to impersonate you. In her mind, he may have appeared to be a completely different shinigami. She was aware that you had returned to the Soul Society, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"All the more reason for her not to have noticed the imposter as trying to pull himself off as you."

"Do you think the copycat knew this?"

"It's hard to say, though there was one thing that I was not able to figure out from the data that you gave me."

"What's that?"

"What he looked like."

"Huh?"

"He may have been trying to pass himself off as you on the radar, but we don't know if the imposter also tried to make himself look like you or if he just was walking around in Karakura-cho as himself."

"I see."

"In any case, Hitsugaya-taichou, wouldn't it just be easier to ask your fukutaichou—"

"No!…I mean, no."

"Care to elaborate?"

Hitsugaya stared at the ground and did not respond.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, I am more than willing to assist you in any way that I can, but I can only help you if you give me all the information."

"There is something that has been bothering me. Right before I returned to the Material World this time, I found that Matsumoto had applied to be dispatched to the Material World. She was rejected several times, but she came anyway. After I got my own place, she suddenly appeared at my door—literally. We were investigating Aizen, keeping an eye out for any signs that Aizen might be making his move. Then I was called back to the Soul Society at the end of September, which was when the copycat started to appear in the Material World. Then when I came back yesterday, Matsumoto went out to the convenience store on the corner. During which she was attacked by a hollow. She said that she was caught off guard while coming back from the convenience store, but what bothered me was that the hollow was not very strong. It should have just been routine, but instead of fighting it, she ran."

"Ran?"

"I saw the hollow on my radar and went to take care of it thinking that there might be a plus in danger, but when the spirit particles dissipated, I realized it was Matsumoto. She was nearly to the park, opposite direction of where we live. It was evening and there was no one in the street. She's never reacted like this before. She looked like she had taken a pretty bad beating. But this wasn't the first time apparently since she had these older bruises and injuries on her legs in which I'm guessing there was a similar incident prior to what happened last night. With the possibility of Aizen and Ichimaru infiltrating the Material World for who knows why and with Matsumoto appearing here under suspicious circumstances…"

"I see. You are concerned and at a loss as to what to do. Well, I gave you my comments, a summary of my findings…Give me another day and I can have a copy prepared for you."

"Thank you. I would appreciate that. Perhaps it is better that I just watch her for a few more days and if anything suspicious comes up, to bring it up."

"I think that would be a wise course of action."

"Thank you for your analysis," the serious taichou said, turning to leave. "I can just walk out of here right?"

"The same way you came."

"Will you see me off?"

"I think I'll stay down here and check on one last thing."

"Very well. I appreciate your help. Good day."

The scruffy shopkeeper watched as Hitsugaya disappeared into the darkness, penetrating the barrier and walking down the dark hall back to the stark room at the end of the hall. As he walked out of the room and towards the main doors of the shop, he was stopped by the assistant.

"Hitsugaya-taichou!" called Tessai.

"Hmm?"

"Have you seen the tenchou?"

"He said he was going to research something somewhere in that room," he responded, pointing down the hall.

"Thank you," bowed the assistant walking down the hall.

Hitsugaya walked out of the shop and onto the main road as he headed back to the apartment.

"Tenchou!" called Tessai, bounding into the room. "Huh? Where is he? Tenchou!"

Tessai opened the only closet, half expecting the lazy shopkeeper to be passed out taking a nap in there.

"Tenchou, you know, I've been—he's not here…"

The Urahara Shouten assistant closed the door and left scratching his head.

0-0-0-0-0

Several days passed. Matsumoto was usually at the apartment cooking, cleaning, and doing paperwork (rather diligently) in between. Hitsugaya was catching up on his paperwork while investigating leads in between. Then one late October evening a black butterfly flew into their apartment.

"Taichou," called Matsumoto, "It's a jigokuchou."

The butterfly fluttered about the 10-bantai taichou's head. Hitsugaya appeared not to notice it so Matsumoto came over to tap him on the shoulder.

"Taichou?"

"Hmm?" Hitsugaya looked up from his reports to find Matsumoto staring down at him curiously. "What?"

"I've been calling you. Look."

"Jigokuchou…"

"It appears to have a message for you."

Hitsugaya nodded and extended his finger to the butterfly. Perched on his index finger, it delivered the silent message to the child prodigy. Matsumoto watched her taichou's expression as he received the message, watching it go from serious to shock as he released it.

"Taichou?" she asked concernedly. "Taichou, are you all right?"

Hitsugaya just stared out into space, his mouth moving but no sound reverberating through his throat.

"Taichou?" Matsumoto asked, laying her hand on his shoulder gently. "What did it say?"

"…N-N-Nothing," he managed to cough out weakly. "Don't worry about it."

Hitsugaya stood up from his workstation and walked away.

"Taichou? Where are you going?" Matsumoto asked, following him to the front door.

"Out," he mumbled.

"It's ten-thirty at night. Where are you going?"

Hitsugaya did not respond, leaving a perplexed Matsumoto in the doorway, unsure if she should pursue him.

Deciding against her better judgment, she stayed home and waited. And waited. And waited. She brought a blanket out to the living room while she watched TV, figuring he would not be more than an hour or so. Midnight rolled into the next morning. Matsumoto had passed out on the couch and woke up with a start.

"_What time is it?_" she thought looking around, rubbing one eye sleepily. The front door creaked open. Hitsugaya came in the door. "Taichou?"

Matsumoto stood up and walked over to him.

"Taichou, where have you been? Do you have any idea what time it is? Taichou, it's nearly 5 am. Where are you…going?" she trailed off, as she watched him go straight to the bathroom to take a shower. He emerged several minutes later and went straight to bed.

Hitsugaya slept most of the day. He woke up right before dinner to get a glass of tea, half of which he drank. Then went back to sleep. After three more days of this, Matsumoto was at the brink of her sanity. She knew that when her taichou went silent on her, he usually needed a day or so to calm down. But this was different. He was looking pale from not consumed anything of substance and his reiatsu was very heavy. He barely said two words to her since the jigokuchou delivered that message. She wanted desperately to find out what was wrong, but her taichou had turned mute on her. Even the prince of silence himself, Kuchiki Byakuya, averaged more words per day than her taichou in his current state.

Bringing in a tray of okayu (a type of rice gruel soup that is usually served to sick people on the basis that it is easy on the stomach) and some tea, Matsumoto entered the bedroom, and was immediately hit with a wall of extremely cold reiatsu. The temperature of their bedroom alone felt at least 20 or 30 degrees below the rest of the apartment. Sleeping next to him was like sleeping next to a block of ice, which was why Matsumoto had been sleeping on the couch. The amazing thing was, that even without having really eaten, his reiatsu was still in full swing. Had she gone four days without eating, she knew she would not have been able to even lift a finger.

"Taichou, you have to get up," Matsumoto said gently, setting the tray on the lamp stand next to the bed. "Come on. Have something to eat."

"Not hungry," he mumbled rolling over and pulling the covers over his face.

"Please?" she begged in a strained voice.

Hitsugaya opened his eyes groggily and sat up unwillingly. Matsumoto set the tray on his lap and pulled up a chair next to the bed. Hitsugaya frowned, staring at the food in front of him for several moments before picking up the spoon, which he only used to stir the food around dully.

Matsumoto shifted uncomfortably in the seat as she rubbed her arms to stimulate more blood flow to the shivering appendages.

"Taichou," she said, her voice straining as she tried to make conversation.

Hitsugaya looked up to acknowledge that he had heard and was making efforts to listen.

"A funny thing happened today. Some boxes arrived today. I had asked that some reports be sent. They were in three boxes next to my desk in your office. But the strangest thing happened. They must have sent the wrong box because I have the first and the third box, but not the second. Do you know what was in the box that should have been the second box? Food! Can you imagine? I opened the box and it was filled with ama-nattou!"

At the word 'ama-nattou', Hitsugaya's eyes widened as Matsumoto continued to babble on oblivious to the piqued interest demonstrated by the 10-bantai taichou.

"Can you imagine, taichou?" continued Matsumoto. "It was an entire box of those candied red beans—like twenty of those cartons. I tried to look for a return address, but those stupid freight forwarders stuck the label right over the old one, so I couldn't see anything. I was—"

"Matsumoto, where's the box?" he whispered.

"Huh? Oh, in the living room. You want me to bring it here?"

Hitsugaya nodded, so Matsumoto went to fetch the large cardboard box. When she brought it back, it seemed that some of the heavy reiatsu had dissipated—not a whole lot, it was still pretty difficult to move and it was still really cold, but at least there appeared to be a change. She moved the dishes onto the nightstand and set the box next to her pale taichou, who immediately began rummage through the box as if he were looking for something. She had been right; there were about twenty boxes as he pulled the ones on the top and scattered them over their bed until he finally stopped. He pulled out the last box and found that there had been a note taped to the last box. Reading through the letter as if his life depended on it, he soon slumped back into the pillows in defeat and returned to his depressive state.

"Taichou?" Matsumoto called to him.

"Can you leave me alone?" he asked.

Matsumoto was about to say something, but something told her that her taichou might need some time. She nodded and went to collect the dishes. As she stacked up the dishes onto the tray, she spoke quietly without looking at him, "If you need someone to listen, I'm here. Sometimes it's better to share your pain instead of trying bear that burden all alone."

Matsumoto walked towards the door, and took one more glace back forlornly.

Staring up at the ceiling blankly, he muttered to no one in particular, "My grandmother passed away…"

Matsumoto felt a pang in her heart as if she had lost that person, though she had never met his grandmother before, and promptly returned to his side.

"Was she sick?" asked Matsumoto, reaching out to touch his arm.

"No…she was old, but not sickly. The house burned down—"

"Taichou, I'm so sorry," she said, placing her head next to his hand.

"I wasn't even allowed to go to her funeral—"

"What?! Why?" demanded Matsumoto indignantly standing up.

"My father—he said he would destroy the village if anyone told me about the funeral."

"Why?" cried Matsumoto, visibly more upset about the injustice than Hitsugaya.

"He and my brother, they live in the neighboring village from my grandmother. The village that my grandmother lived in is subsidized by the village my father and my brother live in. They couldn't risk something like that—"

"Taichou, I understand complying to your father's demands to preserve the village, but why would he want to keep you away from your grandmother's funeral in the first place?"

"To spite me, I suppose," replied Hitsugaya tiredly, continuing to stare at the ceiling as if it amused him. "My existence has been a sore spot for him since the day that I was born. My mother died giving birth to me and what's worse, he's suspected that she cheated on him during the marriage. My father and my brother—they're spitting images of each other. Tall and muscular…dark, thick, sorta wavy hair…gray eyes…strong, masculine facial features. My mother also had dark hair, though her eyes were brown. For some reason I was born with the features you see today and that made my father very upset. He never found any evidence that she had cheated on him. There were no travelers, much less villagers with green eyes or fair hair. Everyone in that village had at the very least, dark hair. From the beginning, I felt out of place. People stared and my father was very cold to me. But, my grandmother…she…she was the only one who didn't mind. She took me in after my father and brother said they didn't want me around. She always made my favorite…ama-nattou. That was my favorite, ever since I was a kid. She always made it for me and even when I became a shinigami, she always sent me boxes of it because she knew that I liked it."

Hitsugaya sighed and turned to face his fukutaichou, who looked like she was half on the verge of tears and half ready to call out Haineko to beat someone to a pulp. Hitsugaya felt the corners of his mouth turn up slightly.

"It's not fair," shouted Matsumoto, plopping down next to him. "Taichou! You deserve better than that! To have a family…"

She sniffled as a tear trickled down her cheek. She buried her face into his shoulder as she shuddered. "It's something I've always dreamed of. I lost my entire family and can't even remember what they look like, if they were law-abiding citizens or if they were thieves, if I had siblings, if they died or if they just picked up their stuff and left me one day…Tell me, how can people turn away their own flesh and blood!" she cried, angrily, staring into his eyes with tear-filled eyes.

"Matsumoto…" Hitsugaya said, surprised at the outburst, never having seen her display that much raw emotion.

"I'm sorry, taichou," she said wiping her eyes with her sleeve and trying to force a smile. "I came to cheer you up and ended up…I mean, that is to say…I didn't mean to shout at you like that…"

Hitsugaya was silent for several moments watching Matsumoto's apologetic face and her fingers fidget with her sleeve.

"Taichou," she said quietly. "What will you do about your father and brother?"

"Nothing. It can't be helped," he said, climbing out of bed and walking over to the window to open the curtains. "It is unfortunate that I was not able to go to my grandmother's funeral, but she always told me that she would always be there watching over me no matter where I was. Thank you, Matsumoto, for reminding me."

Hitsugaya opened the curtains and looked out at the city below. "Don't worry about my father and brother. One thing that my grandmother wrote to me before she died was that my father and brother came to visit her before she died. She said they were looking for something. She thinks they were really looking for me."

"For you, taichou?"

"Yeah, she said that they wouldn't reveal what they were looking for, but my brother asked her where I was and why I wasn't at home. I guess they expected me to be there, miserable and doing nothing with my life. She told them that I had become a shinigami and my father almost died. It was my father's dream that my brother enter the ranks of the Gotei 13, but he unfortunately has no reiryoku. Apparently that hit a nerve and he demanded to see proof of me entering the Gotei 13."

"What did she do?" asked Matsumoto, wondering if her taichou had returned to his old self.

Hitsugaya turned to face her and smirked, "Isn't it obvious? She told them that they were no longer allowed to refer to me as 'that brat' since now I was a full-fledged taichou of 10-bantai and that they could refer to any shinigami publication to see proof of that. She told them that the next time they see me, they may address me as 'Hitsugaya-taichou'."

Hitsugaya walked smirking as he went to take a shower, leaving Matsumoto relieved that her taichou had returned to his old self.

0-0-0-0-0

_Renji: (bursting into Byakuya's office) Kuchiki-taicho--!! (of course, causing Byakuya to lose count of what number he was on in his calculations)_

_Byakuya: (irritated, giving Renji the 'this better be good if you're interrupting me now' face) What is it, ABARAI-FUKUTAICHOU?!_

_Renji: The—_

_Yumichika: Renji!_

_Renji: What?! I was talkin' to Kuchiki-taichou HERE!_

_Yumichika: There's been an update for C&P after MONTHS of inactivity!_

_Renji: Are you fuckin' serious! _

_Yumichika: You better go get a copy before they all run out!_

_Renji: Right! (runs out to grab a copy) See ya, taichou! This takes precedence over that really important message I was supposed to relay to you from Zaraki-taichou._

_Byakuya: …(sniffs indignantly)_

_Yumichika: (pulls a packet from behind his back and sets it on Byakuya's desk) It's no use pretending, Kuchiki-taichou. I know you're reading it too. Here's your copy._

_Kenpachi: YUMICHIKA! WHERE THE HELL ARE YA?!_

_Yumichika: (in a sing-song voice) Coming! (winks to Byakuya) Enjoy! I here this chapter is the setup for the next chapter where the real drama is gonna hit…(skips out the door)_


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: KTNM

**Chrysanthemums & Peaches – Chapter 17**

Hitsugaya was sitting on the couch channel surfing, his boredom scribbled all over his face as he frowned.

"_Just where the hell was Matsumoto?_" he thought crankily, as he stared at the flickering television screen, observing what looked to be a comedy program of some sort that was displaying humans at their crudest. He flipped to another channel, which really was no better as it appeared to be three female celebrity idols cooking for a panel of judges. The older man in the middle cringed and told them all they would make horrible future wives. Then, as if someone above cared enough to save him from his boredom, the doorbell rang.

"Matsumoto! Just where the hell have you been?!"

"Oh, taichou, sorry, I got sidetracked…"

"Side-tracked?! Matsumoto, you told me you were coming home two, no, now it's three hours ago!"

"Geez, you don't have to yell, taichou—"

"Well, where have you been? That's some detour you took, seeing as the supermarket is only ten fucking minutes from here!"

"Hey, why are you getting so upset?! I said I was sorry!"

"Matsumoto, you called me from the supermarket three hours ago to tell me to help you bring the groceries up the stairs because the elevator was broken. I was down there for half and hour and you didn't show up. I called you like ten times! Then I came up and waited for another two and a half hours for you to call me. For three hours, nothing. Not even an email or anything—"

"Geez! Why are you so upset?! Take a chill pill or something!" Matsumoto retorted, before realizing what she had said. "Oops, I didn't—"

"That's not funny, Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said grumpily. "Well, I had a meeting that I was supposed to go to _two hours ago_, but I was waiting for you to come home!"

"Well, why didn't you just go without me? I would've managed if you had just called me!"

"I did try to call you, but you didn't answer your phone!" Hitsugaya shouted as he opened the sliding door to the veranda.

"Where are you going?!"

"To my meeting!" said Hitsugaya, waving his hand to open the portal to the Soul Society.

"Why're you opening the portal there?"

"Because it's convenient and I'm already late—"

"But I'm still talking to you—"

Matsumoto chased after him as Hitsugaya got ready to pass through the gate. But when she extended her arm to grab the thick ebony cloth, sparks flew and bright flashes of golden light scattered as her fingers passed through the gate.

"Ouch!" Matsumoto said, her hand recoiling in pain.

"What's the matter?" Hitsugaya said worriedly, turning around.

"I don't know, I just reached my hand like this and—OUCH!"

Hitsugaya came out of the portal and stuck his hand in first to find he did not have the same reaction.

"Matsumoto…" he said, his eyes narrowing. "Have you gone through this portal recently?"

"No, why? Ouch—" she said shaking her hand to relieve the tingling shock she received to her index finger when she tried a third time. "Why can't I go through the portal?"

Hitsugaya waved the portal closed and walked over to his laptop to turn it on. The screen flickered as thousands of words and symbols appeared on the screen, scrolling down for what seemed to be endless data. When the data came to the end, it flashed black for a second before prompting him for a password, which he readily supplied. Following the prompts, Matsumoto watched as Hitsugaya maneuvered the system effortlessly until he came to a halt.

"It's not there," he sighed, closing the laptop and putting it into sleep mode.

"What's not there?" she asked.

"I didn't see your name. If there was a restriction on you moving through Gotei 13 portals, it would have listed your name in that program. But the latest entries were Ichimaru, Tousen, and Aizen."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if your name is in that database, that the second your reiatsu touches a Gotei 13 created portal, a seal prevents you from passing through. The seal placed on the portals is strong enough to keep most out. The effect is similar to the shock you just experienced. But sheer determination and a high pain tolerance can enable extremely powerful shinigami to pass through. They sometimes create a 'reverse allow list' which basically says that only those on this list will be granted passage through the portals. Sometimes they do that when they 'lock down' and only usually those of taichou class are allowed to pass through during those periods of time. I was checking both of those lists and your name wasn't on the former, nor was there any 'reverse allow list' in effect currently."

"Oh…"

"Which means something else is not right…"

"Something…else…?"

"Could it be the gigai…?" Hitsugaya mused to himself.

"Taichou?"

"Come," he commanded, grabbing her arm.

"Where are we going?"

"To pay a certain shinigami researcher a visit…."

0-0-0-0-0

The pair stood outside Urahara Shoten for a good five minutes knocking and ringing the doorbell before Hitsugaya became irritated enough to start pounding on the glass windows.

"URAHARA!" shouted Hitsugaya as he rapped sharply on the panes.

The door slid open, revealing the yawning shopkeeper.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, what can I do for you today?" he asked, scratching the back of his head as he stifled another yawn.

"We've got a problem. I thought you said these gigai can go back and forth between the Material World and the Soul Society effortlessly."

"They can," he said, leaning lazily on the doorframe.

"Didn't you say that the gigai automatically separates from the soul once we hit the barrier between the two worlds?"

"It does—well, it's supposed to."

"Well, explain to me why we can't cross back into the Soul Society. Have you been giving us defective merchandise again?"

"Absolutely not. Please come in," the sleepy shopkeeper said, bowing humbly. "Allow me to examine you personally, Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Not me, Matsumoto, you pedophilic pervert—" Hitsugaya said, slapping the wandering hands sharply and storming in.

"Excuse us," Matsumoto bowed.

"Tessai, tea!" called the former taichou as he sat his guests on two floor cushions in front of him.

"Roger that, tenchou!" called Tessai from the kitchen.

"Now what seems to be the problem?" asked Urahara.

"To make a long story short," began Hitsugaya. "I was late for a meeting and so I opened a portal on the veranda of our apartment. She ran after me and as soon as her hand passed through the gate, we heard a crackle and a burst of light."

"Was it painful, Matsumoto-fukutaichou?" asked Urahara looking at her hand.

"Yes."

"Do you think you could pass your entire body through the portal?"

"No, it was quite painful, so I wouldn't dare try it with my entire body…"

"Well, do you think you could manually separate out of the gigai so that I could see if there are any physical discrepancies?"

Matsumoto did not move.

"Matsumoto-fukutaichou?" Urahara arched an eyebrow.

"Matsumoto, he's talking to you. Separate from the gigai!"

"I can't…" she mumbled.

"What?"

"Taichou, Urahara-san…I can't…" she said, bowing her head in shame.

"Matsumoto, explain yourself—"

"Let me ask the questions, Hitsugaya-taichou," the former taichou, said calmly. "What sort of difficulties are you experiencing?"

"I—"

"Why didn't you say anything earlier!" demanded Hitsugaya suddenly.

"Taichou…"

"Hitsugaya-taichou, perhaps it would be better that you had some tea with Tessai…Ah here he is now with the tea—while I speak with Matsumoto-fukutaichou about her difficulties in separating herself from her gigai."

"But—" protested Hitsugaya.

"Hitsugaya-taichou!!" Tessai said jubilantly handing him a cup of steaming tea.

"Don't worry. I just want to find out a few more details and maybe run some tests."

"Fine…" Hitsugaya conceded begrudgingly as he watched them disappear down the hallway that led to the laboratory.

After about fifteen minutes, Matsumoto emerged. She sat on one of the cushions adjacent to her taichou's and took a sip of the tea that had now turned lukewarm.

0-0-0-0-0

Urahara emerged solemnly about half an hour later. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto stood up, but Urahara dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

"I think the both of you should sit down for this," Urahara said quietly, sitting on a cushion opposite them and gesturing for Tessai to bring some more tea.

"Did you find what the problem was?" asked Hitsugaya.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, Matsumoto-fukutaichou," began the shopkeeper. "Do you remember the first time I explained what a gigai was and how it worked?"

"Yeah…" answered Hitsugaya.

"Do you remember the first thing I said about gigai?"

"Of course, that they operate like fully functioning human bodies."

"Yes, an impressive impeccable memory you have there, Hitsugaya-taichou. Well, I developed the gigai you two have personally and so, I can guarantee that they are fully functioning gigai—fully functional all the way down to the organs—in fact, I was so skillful in my invention, that well, even the reproductive organs are functional…"

"The _reproductive _organs…I don't like where this is going…"

"Well, to be honest, my original intent for the gigai was never to test the procreative capabilities of an artificial body. There has been little research due to the ethical nature of the topic…"

"The ethical nature?" said Hitsugaya, his eyes narrowing.

"Well, for starters, the gigai and the soul itself are two separate entities and when we were first researching the possibilities, we came to one central question. What happens when the gigai and the soul are in conflict?"

"What do you mean _in conflict_?"

"Take for instance if you get sick—as the human body is sometimes susceptible to. We as shinigami researchers can't fix all the problems, you know. Anyway, say your gigai catches a cold. If you separate yourself from the gigai, does your soul bear any effects of the cold?"

"Does it?" asked Matsumoto.

"We had mixed results. Some souls that had higher amounts of reiryoku or higher reiatsu were able to separate themselves without feeling any of the effects of the illness; however, there were others who were forced to remain in their gigai until the illness passed."

"What does this have to do with us? Matsumoto is of fuktutaichou class. Even if she had a cold she shouldn't—"

"Taichou, let's listen to what Urahara-san has to say," said Matsumoto quietly.

"It's a delicate subject," sighed Urahara. "But it appears that your fukutaichou—that is, well the reason why she cannot go back to the Soul Society, and I'm assuming she cannot call out her zanpakutou, is because her soul has become fused to her gigai."

"Fused to her gigai? What is that supposed to mean?" asked Hitsugaya as he tried to process what was being said.

"Well, it's not really _fused_, but it's more like it has been _joined _with the gigai hopefully temporarily."

"How long are we talking?"

"I'm thinking about eight more months—"

"Why eight?"

"Well, it's probably been a month since the problem manifested…"

"It's a problem that goes away in nine months?" asked Hitsugaya becoming more and more puzzled.

"Not really…." said Urahara slowly.

"Nine months…nine months…why would Matsumoto be stuck in her gigai for nine months unless she's—"

"Bingo!"said Urahara, fanning himself with his fan.

"Are you serious?!" shouted Hitsugaya, losing his cool—much to the surprise of everyone.

"Very serious, Hitsugaya-taichou," affirmed Urahara.

"That would mean that she's…"

"Uh oh…" warned Matsumoto.

"P-P-Pr…she's gonna have a kid?!" sputtered Hitsugaya.

"Well said, Hitsugaya-taichou! As to be expected from the youngest shinigami to become a taichou!" beamed Tessai.

"Where did you come from?!" demanded Hitsugaya.

"Tessai, I think there's some inventory to unload—" said Urahara.

"Tenchou—"

"Tessai," warned Urahara.

"Yes, tenchou," bowed Tessai as he exited.

"Now, for our 100 million yen winners…" said Urahara, turning to them once more.

Hitsugaya gulped. "…Um, is it mine…?"

"Don't look at me, Hitsugaya-taichou. Ask your fukutaichou. As far as I'm concerned, it's a human baby, the paternity of which can only be tested by the methods developed here in the Material World."

"Matsumoto?" he said looking at her.

"Would you rather it not be yours?" she said staring down into her hakama.

"I'm asking whether or not it's mine," pressed Hitsugaya.

"Could you recognize it as yours?"she asked, clenching her hakama tightly.

"Whether or not I choose to recognize this child as mine does not change the fact that it is still mine, if it is mine to begin with."

"Are you ready to be a parent, taichou? You're so young," said Matsumoto, finally meeting his gaze.

"I could ask the same of you, Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Touché, taichou. But I'm still older than you."

"Answer my question. Is it mine?"

"Proba…er—"

"What was that?"

"Yes—it's yours."

"Alright then." Hitsugaya paled and took in a gulp of air. "Urahara, what are our options?"

"Hm?

"I want to know our options. I mean is this detrimental to her health or what? Is there anything we need to be aware of?"

"Well, for now, since the gigai is now the home to both souls, your fukutaichou's and the baby's, it appears that the two souls are connected and since one is a shinigami but the other is not, this creates the inability for her to exit from her gigai safely. We both know that only shinigami—well souls—can enter the Soul Society. For now, Matsumoto-fukutaichou will not be able to enter the Soul Society."

"What happens if she tries to enter the Soul Society?" asked Hitsugaya.

Urahara fanned himself for several moments before staring straight into Hitsugaya's eyes.

"She will die."

Hitsugaya felt a chill run up his spine.

"It will be the same as if a human with a little bit of reiryoku were to try to enter the Soul Society. I can guarantee that if she tries to enter the Soul Society before she carries this child to term, she along with the child will perish under the pressure of the barrier. You know as well as I do that those barriers are meant to keep living things out and right now, Matsumoto-fukutaichou is considered to be more 'living' than 'non-living', in the human sense of the word. You are a shinigami as far as the Soul Society is concerned, Hitsugaya-taichou, and thus, are considered to be 'non-living'. You have a gigai which you can easily separate from should the need arise. The non-living can exist in the world of the living. However, Matsumoto-fukutaichou's existence is…well, I would have to say it's not 'non-living'. She's not 'living', but she's not 'non-living'….and beings that are not 'non-living' i.e. made up completely of reishi, cannot pass through the portal leading to the Soul Society."

Hitsugaya sighed.

"So what are our options?"

"Well, for one, you can carry the child to term and keep it. Two, you can carry the child to term and give it up for adoption. Or, if you really don't want it, you can abort it. The thing with this last option is that it is time sensitive. The longer you wait, the more complicated the procedure will become and the higher the risk you will face, Matsumoto-fukutaichou. This is not to say that carrying the child to term is without its risks. Either way, it will be a risk for you. If you are forced through the gateway back into the Soul Society at any time before the child is born, you _will_ die. Also, if you try to force yourself out of the gigai to call out your zanpakutou or to use kidou, you will also most likely die from the instability that will result. You will be very vulnerable to say the least. You must weigh the risks carefully and decide whether you want this child."

"What do you want to do, Matsumoto?" asked Hitsugaya.

"Oh, and one more thing, the two of you must consider. Since you are both high profile individuals, you must also consider your careers. While there is nothing written forbidding relationships between shinigami officers of rank, please be mindful of your positions. I know the two of you are pretending to be a couple here in the Material World, but in the Soul Society, things are different. If you are not married, then Hitsugaya-taichou is legally not bound to you, Matsumoto-fukutaichou. It may be his child, but he is not legally responsible for it. You have 90 days from the birth of the child to petition that he recognize the child, if you don't file for anything, he owes nothing to you and this child. But if he is married, then this child becomes public record. Everyone will know this child, as members of the Gotei 13 are required to register their children, but more importantly, members of the Gotei 13 are career shinigami. They sacrifice having children for the protection of freedom."

"Abort it," Matsumoto whispered.

"Huh?" said Hitsugaya dumbly.

"Abort it, taichou," Matsumoto said looking away.

"What?!"

"Just abort it."

"Matsumoto, this is a life we're talking about! That is a child in there!" he shouted pointing towards her midsection.

"I know," she said, looking away.

"What? Did you know you were, you know…?" he asked, flailing his hands helplessly.

"Did I know I was pregnant? No."

"Then how can you decide so quickly after having just heard from Urahara?!" he demanded, suddenly raising his voice.

"I know what I'm doing!" she shouted back.

"Don't be so reckless!"

"I'm not being reckless! I'm being perfectly rational. I'm saying that we should abort it."

"I mean it's your body, so the decision is pretty much yours, but don't you want it?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well, if you don't want it, then I don't want to force you into carrying it to term—"

"Well, I'll just leave you two to discuss this…it is a big decision, so I don't want to put any additional pressure on the two of you…" said Urahara, bowing and stepping into the shadows.

"I don't want it!"shouted Matsumoto.

"Well, you don't have to get so upset, Matsumoto!" shot back Hitsugaya.

"Why are you being so persistent?!" she yelled.

"I'm not being persistent! I don't want to force you into anything as life changing as this, is all I'm saying!"

"Who's forcing who into anything?! You said the decision was mine, right?"

"I did—"

"So why are you questioning my decision? Do you not trust me?"

"It's not that I don't trust you—"

"Then what?"

"It's a baby and I just—"

"Look, taichou, you're too young—"

"That has nothing to do with it! Clearly it wasn't about age when you opened your legs and I stuck my—"

"Why is it that you get so defensive when it comes to your age?!"

"Because you and everyone else keep throwing the fact that I look like I'm 10 in my face all the time! It's irritating as hell!"

"Can you blame them?! When you get so upset about it _like a child_?!"

"No! Hey, that was low, Matsumoto. But goddamn it, when you do it—Aaauugggh! Never mind. Forget I said anything. This is turning out to be more trouble than it's worth!"

Hitsugaya slammed his fist on the table.

"Are you trying to say I'm troublesome?" Matsumoto said, slamming both her palms on the table as she rose up to him.

"Yes!"

"What?!"

"I mean, no! I mean, yes you tend to attract trouble, but that's not what I'm talking about—"

"Then tell me, what are you talking about, because I'm not liking it one bit—"

"I'm just saying this argument is turning troublesome! Besides, is that how you feel about me, that I'm always too young…. that I'm old enough to have sex with you, but not old enough or good enough to be the father of your child? What the hell is up with that?!"

"Hey, I never said you weren't good enough. I'm just saying that we're both really young—"

"Too young to be parents—"

"Yes!"

"Matsumoto, this is not like shirking paperwork! We can't just sweep it under the rug and expect it to go away!"

"I'm not saying to sweep it under the rug, I'm saying, let's get rid of it!"

"Why are you so anxious to get _rid_ of it?!"

"Why are you so anxious to _keep_ it?!"

"Because!"

"Because what?"

"I don't know, because I feel responsible! I want to do the right thing—"

"Responsible? The right thing? Taichou, I don't need your or anyone else's pity—"

"It's not about pity, Matsumoto! Why the hell are you being so difficult?!"

"I am not!"

"Matsumoto, you know what, whatever!" Hitsugaya got up and stomped out of the shop into the downpour that had just begun minutes earlier.

"Taichou! Where are you going?!" she shouted after him, thunder rolling ominously from a distance.

"Somewhere other than here! I don't know why you're being so difficult! Urahara, thanks for the advice!"

"Yes, we'll be in touch!" Matsumoto called as she shoved the sliding door shut behind her.

"Always a pleasure," waved the jovial shopkeeper.

"Sound familiar, Kisuke?" purred a low voice from the shadows, two dark arms making their way into the shopkeeper's open clothing, scratching his chest lightly with her nails.

"Mm?" he hummed, as he removed his hat and pulled a loose thread from it. "Too familiar…though as I recall, it wasn't a matter of you being stuck in a gigai…"

"Is it really okay to be leaving them alone like that?" she asked, nipping at his ear.

"They need to work this one out on their own. It takes two to tango, Yoruichi-san. That child will put their relationship to the ultimate test. But the sweet thing about all of this is that both of them are trying to do what they believe is best for the other. He doesn't want to force anything onto her or cause any unnecessary suffering on her part, which is why he's leaving the decision in her hands. But she was worried about his career, yet it was so obvious that she wanted to keep it. How sweet is that—Yoruichi-san?"

"Kisuke, I hate when you get like that. Stay out there until you return from Planet Sap."

0-0-0-0-0

The two high ranking 10-bantai individuals were getting soaked by the rain, which seemed to be coming down even harder than when they left the Urahara Shouten. The rain drowned out any sound, so they had resorted to finishing their argument later. Hitsugaya was not using his shunpo, but he was farther ahead, leading the way home. Matsumoto trailed behind him, sulking.

"Stupid taichou…" Matsumoto muttered to herself, pouting as she plowed through another dirty puddle whose grime invaded her sandals. Frowning, she kicked a large piece of gravel along the side of the pavement, watching the broken piece hop, roll, and tumble through puddles. They were nearly home, and she was about to kick the stone again, when the tip of her sandal got caught in the asphalt, causing her to lose her balance. Feeling her body fall forward, she closed her eyes instinctively and flailed her arms in an attempt to regain her balance, but she ended up reaching forward to brace herself for the eminent fall that never came. Looking up, she saw that she had sort of fallen into the arms of someone.

"Taichou…" she breathed. "When did you…"

"Careful, if not for that baby's sake, for your own, Matsumoto," he said quietly, as he helped her to her feet before walking towards the apartment complex. "I gotta go back to the Soul Society. I'll fix the paperwork inconsistencies for the time being. You can decide whether or not you want the baby. All I can give you is ten days. Whatever you decide, I will support you. Though if it makes any difference to you, I would have raised that baby with you, not because I had an obligation to, but because I wanted to…"

Hitsugaya did not turn around to face her, but simply waved his hand to signal the opening of the portal.

"Taichou!" Matsumoto called, running to him and wrapping her arms around him seconds before he passed through the gate. "I'm sorry, for being selfish—"

"Don't get to close," he said gently, pushing her away from the slight vacuum that the gates produced.

"Taichou…"

"Matsumoto, I trust you to make the best decision," he said as he stepped through the sliding doors into the white light.

0-0-0-0-0

While Matsumoto stayed in the Material World, Hitsugaya was busy discreetly covering up any suspicious documentation that Matsumoto had left behind prior to her departure for the Material World. It was a long process that took him nearly a week to complete in its entirety. Hitsugaya knew that if he was ever caught, he would face immediate execution for tampering with and altering official records.

He had just finished altering the last document on the sixth day and had been on his way back from returning the file when he overheard two lower ranking shinigami talking.

"Hey, so you wouldn't believe what I just overheard between the shoji doors—"

"What?"

"They suspect Matsumoto-fukutaichou of treason—"

"You're kidding?! Why what happened?"

"I dunno, but I overheard Kyouraku-taichou talking to Ukitake-taichou and telling him what he overheard someone telling Yamamoto-soutaichou. Someone apparently told Yamamoto-soutaichou that Matsumoto-fukutaichou has been contacting Ichimaru Gin over the past few days. She was seen talking to him somewhere in Karakura Town not once, but on several occasions. The content of the conversations is unknown, but the fact that it is multiple times…."

"So what is Yamamoto-soutaichou going to do about it?"

"Well, he doesn't want to take any chances, so he's probably gonna have her arrested and brought in for questioning—"

Hitsugaya needed to hear no more before he was off with a flash to the main headquarters. As he used his shunpo to bound over the roofs, he grabbed the cell phone that Urahara had given him and dialed the only number in its record.

"Urahara," he said solemly.

"_Yes, Hitsugaya-taichou?"_

"_Bad news, they're sending forces to arrest Matsumoto and bring her back to the Soul Society. According to them, she's been contacting Ichimaru…"_

"_Is it true?"_

"_I don't know, but all I know is that if she passes through that portal…"_

"_I got it. What would you like me to do?"_

"_Just find her and hide her from them. I'll stall them and figure something out. You're a genius, make it so that there's no way they can find her."_

"_Hitsugaya-taichou..."_

"_Please, I'm counting on you! I have no more time. Please, take care of her!"_

Hitsugaya stuffed it into his uniform as he landed in front of the main meeting hall. There were sounds of muffled voices coming from within and Hitsugaya knew that the loudest belonged to the soutaichou. He burst in to find the 1-bantai taichou briefing the Special Task Force led by 2-bantai taichou, Soi Fon.

"Do not kill Matsumoto-fukutaichou. Do you hear me? You just arrest her and bring her back here in one piece—"

"If she struggles?"

"Then subdue her. It's 51 of you against one of her. Do not kill her. She may have important—"

"Matsumoto is not guilty of any crimes!" shouted Hitsugaya entering with a bang. "She knows nothing and was only acting under my orders. I knew that he had contacted her once, but I continued to use her as bait in an attempt to lure out Ichimaru. I should have informed everyone and I did not. I am truly sorry and I take full responsibility. Do not arrest her. If there's anyone you should be looking for to blame this on, it should be me."

"Hitsugaya-taichou, do you know and understand the stakes here?"

"I do. As her commanding officer, I take full responsibility."

"I see," said Yamamoto, leaning heavily on his staff. "Soi Fon."

"Yes, sir!"

"Lock up Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Right away!" she said bowing before the older man. "Hitsugaya-taichou, this way. Please come quietly."

Hitsugaya closed his eyes and led the way with the petite taichou at his back.

"All of you," Yamamoto said facing the squad that had been gathered.

"Yes, Sir!" they bellowed in unison.

"Find and arrest Matsumoto-fukutaichou as well."

"At once, sir!"

Hitsugaya's heart skipped a beat, as Soi Fon ushered him out of the meeting room.

"Dismissed!"

_Please, Urahara. Don't let anything happen to her…_

Urahara turned off the speaker phone mode and closed his phone after having heard what Hitsugaya had allowed him to hear unbeknownst to the other shinigami.

"Yoruichi-san?" he said to the feline sitting on his lap. "We need to find Matsumoto-fukutaichou at once. Can you help me?"

The black haired cat hopped off Urahara's lap and ran to the closet. She emerged fully dressed seconds later.

"Fifty of them right?" she grinned stretching her legs. "Just knock them around a bit while you get the girl right?"

"Sorry to bother you from your nap," the shopkeeper said, grabbing his hat.

"Let's make it a game, Kisuke, for old time's sake…"she said tying her hair up and shrouding her face with a turban like veil.

"Who can complete their mission and be back here first?"

"Loser has to be the winner's slave for a day?"

"You're on, Yoruichi-san."

"See ya," she said, hopping out the window in a flash.

Urahara watched her for several seconds.

"One…two…three…four…five—" Urahara disappeared just as quickly, to miss Tessai who had come up looking for him.

"Tenchou?" Tessai called. "I could've sworn he was here just a second ago…"

0-0-0-0-0

_To be continued…._

_Yay!!! Finally an update for C&P…So sorry to keep you waiting. How was the latest development? There's lots more planned. Battles, sacrifices, heartache, and surprises at every corner. _

_Yumichika: Ikkaku, did you hear?_

_Ikkaku: (digging his nose) What?_

_Yumichika: Hitsugaya-taichou has been arrested._

_Ikkaku: WHAT?!_

_Yumichika: and that's not all—_

_Kenpachi: (suddenly barging in) She's knocked up!_

_Ikkaku: What?! With whose kid?!_

_Kenpachi: Ain't it obvious? The little pipsqueak knocked her up—_

_Yumichika: (pouting) Taichou! You took away my thunder! I was gonna tell him!_

_Ikkaku: Wait, even taichou knows already!_

_Yachiru: Yeah, get with the program, baldie!_

_Ikkaku: Shut up! Besides, how the hell does he know so goddamn much about 10-bantai?_

_Yachiru: Because he spends lots of time with Byaku-neechan—_

_Ikkaku: Kuchiki-taichou?!_

_Byakuya: (suddenly appearing from behind) Is there something wrong with that?_

_Ikkaku: Nothing at all, Kuchiki-taichou!_

_Byakuya: You called me 'nee-chan' just a second ago didn't you?_

_Yachiru: Because Ken-cha is my daddy and you are going to be my mommy, is what—_

_Yumichika: Okay, that's enough for now…Anyway, thank you for the update, Mayonaka no Taiyou. Please keep writing!_


End file.
